England v France
UEFA European U19 Championship, Final
Windsor Park, Belfast
29 July 2005, 7pm

Rising England star James Morrison is following in the footsteps of Middlesbrough club colleague Stewart Downing as he inspires England's progress in the European U19 Championship.

Both players are products of the flourishing Middlesbrough youth academy and for Morrison, the fact the Downing has gone on to make his Senior England debut is a great boost to other young English players.

"Stewart Downing is a good friend of mine and he passes advice down to me about the things that he has experienced in the past couple of years," Morrison told TheFA.com.

"It gives me something to aim for because he has shown it is possible for a young player to break through.

"Obviously it is harder now with lots of foreigners coming into the game but at Middlesbrough there is a really good set-up and if you are good enough you will get into the first team. A few of us have done that and it is a great club for any young player to be at."

Middlesbrough's success at bringing players through to their first team is highlighted by the strong 'Boro presence in virtually every England youth squad.

"You can tell that it's a great youth system as we have got four players in this England [U19] squad. We're all local lads so it's great for me personally and for the club to have us there.

"The assistant coach Steve Harrison, Dave Parnaby the Academy coach and the Reserves manager have all been out and hopefully they will come out for the final."

Morrison has played in all but one of England's matches in Northern Ireland and was particularly impressive on the right-flank as Hunter's side beat Serbia and Montenegro in the semi-final.

"We outplayed them and there was plenty of space for me to show what I can do. Hopefully we can take that into the final and finish with a win against France.

"The system we play does work for me as I like to get wide and create from there. I don't really class myself just as a winger or wide man as I can play anywhere, including centre midfield."

With England Head Coach Sven-Goran Eriksson expected to be at Windsor Park for the final, there will be an extra incentive for Morrison and the rest of Hunter's side.

"That will be hard to describe," Morrison said. "I will be aiming to give it my all and show the England manager what I can do."