England Under-21s interim head coach Aidy Boothroyd believes fans have plenty to look forward to when the new Euro qualifying campaign kicks-off.
The Young Lions were drawn out to play Netherlands, Scotland, Ukraine, Latvia and Andorra in their group, as the qualification race for the 2019 Euro Finals in Italy was set out.
And with eye-catching fixtures such a derby with neighbours Scotland and against the Dutch, Boothroyd came away from Thursday morning’s draw in Nyon in a positive mood.
“I think whoever we got, it was going to be difficult whether it’s the quality of the team you’re playing or the travelling you might have to do,” he told TheFA.com.
“It’s a tough group, but it’s a group in which we haven’t done too badly on the travelling aspect and there’s a couple of really exciting fixtures in there.
“The Scots will be tough, they always are. It’s a derby game and we haven’t had one of those at U21 level for a little while.
“And the Dutch are always very strong and will always be well organised, so it will be a tough couple of games.
“Ukraine is a bit of an unknown quantity, they’ve had some good wins against bigger nations, so there’s lots of ‘watch outs’ in the group.
