Southgate backs England Under-21s to seal Euro spot in October

Tuesday 20 Sep 2016
England Under-21s boss Gareth Southgate encourages his team from the sidelines

England Under-21s boss Gareth Southgate has backed his side to finish their job of qualifying for the Euro Finals next month.

The Three Lions go into October’s trip to Kazakhstan and final home match with Bosnia & Herzegovina in Walsall knowing that a victory in either game will be enough to secure top spot in their group.

And that would mean automatic qualification for Southgate’s squad to next summer’s competition in Poland.

England v Bosnia & Herzegovina

UEFA European U21 Championship
Group 9 Qualifier
3pm, Tuesday 11 October 2016
Banks's Stadium, Walsall FC
Click here for tickets

"We can see the end of the qualifying campaign now and know what we need to do," said Southgate.

"There are two games to go and they won’t be easy, but it’s in our own hands and I’m sure the players will take the same sort of attitude that they’ve shown so far towards those matches.

"But the prize of next summer’s Euro Finals is there and we know what we need to do."

Southgate saw his side pick up an impressive 6-1 victory over Norway earlier this month, which took England one step closer to qualification by completing a double over the Scandinavians.

But whilst the scoreline suggests a comfortable victory for the Three Lions, Southgate saw a different side to the match with Norway proving his players with a stern test for large spells of the game in Colchester.

"I think we can look back on the Norway game and learn a lot from it as well," he explained.

Gareth Southgate congratulates Marcus Rashford as he comes off

Southgate saw Marcus Rashford score a hat-trick against Norway in September to set up October's finale

"The result was a huge one for us, in terms of the position and the head-to-head so we’re in a strong position ahead of Norway and Switzerland on head-to-head.

"But in the three years I’ve been here, they were one of the best teams we’ve played in terms of their possession and the problems they posed us with the ball.

"So despite the scoreline, it’s a game we can learn a lot from and take into the games in October."

Tickets for the final qualifier with Bosnia & Herzegovina at Walsall are on sale now, priced at £1. Call 01922 651414 / 416 or click here to purchase tickets now.

FATV highlights: England U21s 6-1 Norway U21s

 



By Nicholas Veevers Content Manager - FA Owned Channels