Squad ready for challenge

	1 Jul 2008
	VIDEO: U19 training camp
	See England U19s in training at the National Football Centre ahead of their trip to the Czech Republic.

The England U19 squad linked up ahead of the European Championships on Tuesday and are now in full preparations for the the competition in the Czech Republic when it starts on Monday.

The 18 man squad was announced last week following a three day training camp at the National Football Centre in Burton-on-Trent.

The players then returned to their respective clubs, many of whom have now reported back for pre-season training, ahead of re-joining the Young Lions party on Tuesday.

Brian Eastick's team will then head to their base in Liberec on Saturday ahead of the encounter with the Czech Republic on Monday, which is the opening game of the Championship and will be screened live on Eurosport.

Assistant Coach Noel Blake has been involved with the squad all season, during which they have only lost one of their ten games and he feels that the squad selected are more than able to make a good impression.

"We're taking a strong squad over to the Czech Repubic and a few of the players in the 18 have played first team games for their clubs, such as Victor Moses at Crystal Palace and both Tomkins and Sears with West Ham, so that's good experience for them,” said Blake.

"The timing of the tournament comes at a funny time for us domestically, because it's pre-season.

“We all met up at Burton last week and all of the coaching staff were pleased with the squad's conditioning so far, which is a credit to them.”

After facing the hosts in the opener, the Young Lions will face a further two games with Italy and Greece in their group before hopefully heading into the semi-finals and Blake feels everyone involved is aware of the challenges ahead.

"We know it's going to be a tough tournament,” he added.

“Everyone apart from the hosts has come through two phases of qualifying so they all deserve to be there.

“The likes of Italy and Spain are always competitive at this level as they take the championships very seriously and have done well in the past.

“Qualifying in Belarus has given us some confidence but we'll take it one game at a time."

The Squad