Southgate visited St Augustine’s Primary School in the Teesside town to meet pupils ahead of the forthcoming fixture against Germany at the Riverside Stadium on Monday 30 March.
Gareth Southgate enjoyed a skills session with pupils
The former Boro manager, who signed a contract extension earlier that day, spent time taking part in a skills session at the school before answering questions from schoolchildren in year five about all manner of things such as his playing career, his inspirations, his time at the Riverside and his thoughts on this summer's Euro Championship Finals.
And Southgate, who presented the school with complimentary tickets for the Germany game, said of the visit: "Today was important in inspiring the new generation of England fans to form an emotional attachment with the national team, as well as nurturing their growing interest with the game in general.
"What we’ve tried to do with the Under-21s is to give people from different areas of the country the chance to come and watch England play."
With over 7000 tickets already sold for the Germany game already, Southgate praised the club for its commitment to hosting the fixture and encourages all local youngsters to come along to the match.
"One of the reasons prices are as they are is that we want youngsters to come along to the game, to watch England play and get used to coming to football matches," he added.
Gareth Southgate passes on his knowledge to youngsters in Middlesbrough
"It’s nice to be bringing a game to the Riverside again – Boro have been really good in terms of hosting the game and ticket sales are going well.
"It helps that Boro are doing as well as they are this season, there’s a good feel around the town.
"Middlesbrough is a great football area and the children I met today are really excited about watching the game in March.
"It should be a good game, a good evening and a chance to see some of the exciting players of the future."
