Onto the next one...

UEFA European U19 Championship
Finals
21 July - 2 August
Donetsk & Mariupol, Ukraine

Brian Eastick returns to England today after spending the last three weeks with the Under-21 squad for their European Championship campaign and no sooner is he back, preparations are already underway for the U19 Championship finals which take place in July.

The U19 Head Coach has certainly had a busy couple of months after linking up with Stuart Pearce’s staff for the trip to Sweden immediately after leading the U19s to qualification for their finals in the Elite Round games in May and June.

Having worked with many of the current Under-21 squad over the last few years during their time with the other youth teams, Eastick feels that the continuity amongst the coaches within the system can only be a good thing.

“There's a continuity right the way through,” revealed Eastick, who will also take charge of the England U20 squad for the FIFA World Cup in Egypt in September.

“With Stuart Pearce going with the Seniors too and me being in Sweden with the Under-21s, it's a big help to all of the staff having that link going through.”

The Young Lions head east to Donetsk for the finals in mid-July, where they will face their hosts Ukraine, Switzerland and Slovenia in their group stage and Eastick knows his squad will be thoroughly tested in each of those matches.

“When you get to this stage of any tournament you know they are going to be tough games, that's why they've reached the Finals,” he added.

“They are all decent teams, but when you look at it on paper, it looks a reasonable draw for us. Switzerland did extremely well to get there and playing against Ukraine in their own country will be very difficult, as we found out to our cost last year when we played Czech Republic in the first game and they beat us 2-0.

“I wasn't too fussed about who we drew though because I know they were all going to be difficult games.”

The Young Lions will be playing at two different stadiums in Donetsk, located in the far east of Ukraine, including their second game against the host nation in the imposing Olympiyiski Stadium and that is a venue Eastick recalls visiting before so he knows what lies in store for his squad.

“I went to Ukraine about 12 years ago and saw the National Stadium in Donetsk,” he revealed.

“It's a huge stadium, they've got these massive floodlights and it's a typical eastern bloc stadium.

“I think they are expecting some decent crowds out there though, especially with Ukraine playing and we know what we’ll be up against.”