Aidy Boothroyd believes his Young Lions could face one of the toughest tests in Euro Qualifying when they tackle Kosovo in Hull.
The U21s got their own campaign off to a winning start on Friday when they picked up a hard-fought 3-2 victory over Turkey.
And they now return to home shores for Monday evening’s game at the KCOM Stadium, which is not only a historic first ever meeting between the nations at any level but also could prove crucial in the race for control of Group 3.
“The qualifying group is another interesting one for us, alongside Kosovo, Turkey, Albania, Austria and Andorra,” revealed Boothroyd, in his programme notes for the game.
“It’s getting to the point now, and I know it’s been said before, but there are no easy games at international level.
“Kosovo currently sit on top of the group, after winning their two games in June and they’ve impressed me.
“They’re an emerging nation and they’re very well organised, very quick and strong.
“They have momentum and spirit as a nation. If you look at their senior team, they’re doing well too and it looks like we’re seeing the resurgence of another Balkan state.
“They look desperate to compete and desperate to win, so I’m anticipating a very difficult game against them especially on the back of our trip to Turkey for the first game.
“That’s the nature of the qualifying stages though, you don’t get much time to celebrate successes or wallow in self pity, you’ve got to get on with the next game straightaway as they come thick and fast.
“Kosovo are top of the table now, but we’ve got to try and get above them as soon as possible.”
Boothroyd’s new-look squad have now been working together for the last week, firstly at St. George’s Park before staying on in Turkey until Sunday to fine tune their preparations for Monday.
And the head coach is impressed by the level of talent and first-team experience among his players as they aim to reach the next U21 EURO Finals in Hungary and Slovenia in 2021.
“I’m really excited by this new group of players and when I look at the squad we have put together, it’s very encouraging to see that so many of them have been playing regular football in the Premier League already this season,” he added.
“The more English players that we see playing regularly in the Premier League, the better, so all of the England coaches are really pleased about that.”
Read Aidy’s full set of notes in the match programme for the Kosovo game, along with an interview with Morgan Gibbs-White.
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