Aidy Boothroyd has warned England U20s that “streetwise and battle-hardened” opponents lie in wait when they face Portugal in Coimbra on Monday.
The Young Lions remain unbeaten this season but suffered the disappointment of a stoppage-time equaliser in Wednesday’s 2-2 draw with Canada in Bournemouth.
Portugal v England
Under-20 International
Estadio Sergio Conceicão
Coimbra, Portugal
2.30pm Monday 17 November 2014
And whilst Boothroyd says England should have beaten Canada, he admits that Portugal will be a much tougher proposition.
"Against Canada we had a lot of the ball, but Portugal will be quite different," he said.
"They are a very good side. They were runners-up to Germany in the Under-19s Euros last year and this is pretty much the same group.
"They are a very experienced team with over 500 caps at all age groups between them – which for such a young age is fantastic. So they will be streetwise and battle-hardened."
That is not to say that Boothroyd does not think England can go and win in Portugal.
The former Coventry City, Watford and Northampton Town manager has played or coached in all four top divisions in England and has been thoroughly impressed by the Young Lions since taking charge.
England midfielder Lewis Baker in action against Canada
"This group of players is technically very good. Like in any club you have some players who are physically better than some, and others who are technically very good," he revealed.
"We have got a nice mix because we have the cream of the crop in the country – I’ve been impressed.”
Boothroyd is now excited to see how his young charges develop, and take on board lessons from experience with their clubs and with the national side.
"The talent is there, but what we need to do as coaches is to bring them together quickly and teach them the subtle differences in the tactics from international football, from Championship to development leagues, to Premier League or League One or League Two.
"They are young players and the idea is to let them make mistakes to get better.
"We made a few against Canada and hopefully they’ll learn from these – if they make different mistakes in the future then I’ll have that ... that I won’t mind."
