England MU18s boss Ian Foster admits he’s been pleased with the outcome of his first camp with his new squad.
The Young Lions hosted a mini tournament featuring games against Australia, Brazil and Korea Republic across the Midlands to kick-off their new season.
And Foster’s team emerged unbeaten, after Tuesday’s 2-0 win over Korea followed on from a 1-1 draw with Brazil and a thrilling 3-2 victory against Australia in their opener.
"We're really happy with how it's gone,” said Foster, who was appointed as new head coach this summer following two years as a specialist coach with the MU17s.
"We've tried to be fair to the players over the course of the camp with regards their match minutes and also for their clubs as well, because we know they have a busy schedule in the autumn.
"It's great that we've used all 21 players in the squad and they've all got minutes under their belt.
"We've learnt an awful lot about them and there's areas we're really pleased with but there's also areas for them to develop so they've given us a lot to do before meeting up again in October.”
After a campaign of facing European opposition as U17s last term for the majority of the squad, Foster was also impressed by the level his side had to face this week and their ability to adapt.
"What's been great about the opposition is that they've all had different tactics,” he added.
“It's just great for the players as they've all come here with different styles and philosophies, different ways of pressing and attacking you.
"And we didn't do an awful lot of opposition analysis on the other teams, as we wanted to make these games all about England.
"The emphasis was really on how we play and I was very pleased with that so that was another test for them, dealing with what the opponents threw at them.”
With the U18s year group providing a chance to work again with the players who featured at this summer’s U17 EURO Finals, it’s also a chance for Foster and his staff to experiment and introduce new talent to the international scene.
And he admits he’s told the players involved in September that he’s likely to cast his net a little wider when they face a trip to play the Netherlands and Austria next month.
"While we’re very pleased with this week and what we’ve done, I've just said to them though, it's not just about these 21 players,” he revealed.
“There are some of them who won't be with us for the October camp and that's no reflection on them, but we have to see more players over the course of the season.”
