England Under-19s face Mexico in final Euro preparation

England Under-19s have their final Euro preparations over the next three days as they face Mexico on Saturday and Monday.

Aidy Boothroyd and his squad are gearing up for the games, at the Centro de Alto Rendimiento just outside Mexico City, ahead of the Finals in Germany next month.

The games come after a campaign which has seen Boothroyd’s team remain unbeaten in their ten games this season against the likes of Germany, Netherlands, Croatia and Japan as well as in their six Euro Qualifying matches.

This age group of players have also tasted success before, with 13 players in his 22-man squad featuring in the England U17s squad which lifted the Euro title two years ago.

But Boothroyd has also introduced a number of new faces into the group over the course of the season as he bids to help the squad lift another Euro title in July.

"It’s not exactly the same group that John Peacock had with the U17s, but the core is still there," revealed Boothroyd.

"Some of those players have fallen away and others have stepped up to the plate, so we have a slightly different squad but it’s still a very strong squad.

"The Mexicans will offer different opposition to what the lads have been used to over the course of the year, but we want to offer the chance of playing these teams to the squad.

"We could qualify for the U20 World Cup this summer, and games like this would all be beneficial should that be the case."

The U19s have enjoyed a successful season so far and aim to end it with victory in the Euro Finals this summer

Boothroyd revealed he’s also working hard alongside the various parent clubs to ensure he can take a strong squad to Germany for what would be another good tournament experience for those selected.

The Young Lions will face Croatia, France and the Dutch in their group games at the Euros, as they aim to follow on from the title in Liechtenstein in 2014.

"I’m doing that work now, going around and speaking to the clubs and making sure the players come first and that we can get them for the tournament in July," he explained.

"The relationships that we have with the clubs should put us in a good position because the players always come first and the players belong to those clubs -  we just add a little icing on the top of all the hard work that has been done by the clubs.

"So we work together, we think about these things and if we can get all of the players with us and they’re all in good form then we should do well in the tournament."

The UEFA Euro U19s Finals take place between 11 and 24 July.