Three Lions manager Gareth Southgate will be watching his former U21s squad closely at the Euro Finals next summer
Gareth Southgate is hoping his former England Under-21s squad will be well placed to launch a Euro challenge in 2017.
The England manager took the Young Lions through the majority of their qualifying campaign, before interim boss Aidy Boothroyd helped them finish the job and top their group to seal a place at the Euro Finals next summer.
And whilst Southgate won’t be in charge for the tournament, he’s hoping that the spirit and togetherness forged in the group under his leadership over the last 18 months can help them in Poland.
“Definitely, it’s been just over three years of building the culture of that team and establishing our way of playing and how we work day in and day out,” said Southgate, who took over as U21s head coach in 2013 before guiding his first year group to the 2015 Euro Finals in Czech Republic.
“That’s what we need to do with the senior team now, and there are some exciting players coming through which I know all about, so it’s a great opportunity for them to have a crack at being European champions next summer.
“It’s a big challenge for them, but one they should look forward to.”
England will face the host nation, current U21 champions Sweden and Slovakia in the group stages following the draw in Krakow earlier this month.
It will be the sixth successive U21 tournament for which England have qualified, the only nation to have done so in the history of the competition.
But after an appearance in the semi-final of 2007 and the final in 2009, the Young Lions didn’t progress beyond their group in the 2011, 2013 and 2015 editions, something which Southgate is hopeful this group can improve on given their successful qualifying campaign and victory at the 2016 Toulon Tournament.
“Of course, we are proud that our U21s’ record of qualifying for European Championships is the best in Europe,” he added.
“We’ve reached the last six tournaments and that’s great credit to Stuart Pearce as well.
“We were pleased with the progress of the team and to win the tournament in Toulon was an important moment for the players, for them to go through the process of preparing for a final, to get the feel of winning in an England shirt.
“And we have some players now who have that, after our U17s’ Euro title wins twice in the last five or six years.
“That’s important if you’re trying to build a successful senior team, with players who have experienced success.”
Gareth Southgate joins in with Under-21s training last season
There is an element of sadness for Southgate that he will be leaving his former charges behind after taking on the senior role.
But he also admits that the valuable lessons he learned and experiences he gained with the Young Lions can only help him in his new role.
“Definitely, it’s been good to have that tournament experience at international level and that’s something which not many managers have in this role and it’s crucial,” he revealed.
“International football is different to club football, the way the week works, the access to the players and the short space of time that you’ve got to get your message through to the players.
“There’s no question in my mind that the four [interim] matches we had were very important for us to be able to draw on our experiences of working with the U21s in the three years.”
The U21s will continue their preparations for the Euros in 2017, when they travel to face fellow finalists Germany and Denmark on March 24 and 27 respectively.
