England in 2009: U19s
Tuesday, 30 December, 2008
A busy year is in store for England, who have a World Cup and Euro qualification to look forward to.
A promising year is in the pipeline for England's U19s, who have a World Cup to look forward to, as well as the last stages of qualification for the European Finals.
Brian Eastick's side will begin the year, however, in a friendly match in Bournemouth against Spain on 10 February.
But the match will be a vital part of the team's preparation for the Euro Qualifiers in May and Eastick is relishing the chance to travel to Dean Court.
“We’ve taken England youth squads to Bournemouth before and they’ve always been good crowds so I’m sure the game against Spain won’t be any different.
“There’s been a lot of interest in England U19s over the last year or so and we’ve had great crowds at places like Swindon Town, Shrewsbury Town and Colchester United and it’s a real boost for the squad.”
The real business begins in the spring, when England host the Elite Group stage of the Euro qualification, with the Finals starting the Ukraine in July.
The Three Lions will face a tough trio of fixtures, though, having been drawn with Scotland, Slovakia and Bosnia-Herzegovina.
Bosnia-Herzegovina also hoped to host the mini-tournament but it was England’s name out of the hat and Head Coach Brian Eastick was happy to see his side receive home advantage.
“We’re obviously delighted that we will be hosting the games,” Eastick told TheFA.com.
“We wanted to host it and so did Bosnia, but Scotland supported us and they drew our name out of the hat so we’re delighted to be at home.
“That can be an advantage and hopefully we can use it that way.”
Should England reach the Finals in the summer, it will signal the start of a busy period for Eastick's side after thay also secured qualification to the FIFA U20 World Cup in Egypt.
Despite defeat to Czech Republic and a draw with Italy at the summer's European U19s Championship, their overall placing sealed a spot at the World Cup next September.
"There are mixed emotions really," said Eastick after the tournament. "On the one hand, we're delighted to qualify for the World Cup, but on the other, there's disappointment at not reaching the semis of this event."
But Eastick and England's Young Lions have a lot to look forward to in 2009. He added: “Next year will see Stuart Pearce take the Under-21s to Sweden for their Euros and hopefully we can make our Finals in the Ukraine before heading to Egypt for the World Championships.
“It’s going to be an action-packed 2009 that’s for sure.”
Tickets for the game against Spain at Dean Court, Bournemouth will go on sale from the club soon priced at £3 in advance (£5 on gate) for adults and £1 for children and concessions.