Men's Under 21s
Men's Under 21s

U21s keeper Freddie Woodman targets a third straight Toulon title for Young Lions

Thursday 31 May 2018
Freddie Woodman has played in both of England's games at the 2018 Maurice Revello Tournament in France

Freddie Woodman says England U21s are targeting a third straight Toulon title this month after an unbeaten start to the Maurice Revello Tournament.

The Young Lions secured an opening game victory over China last weekend before being held by Mexico on Tuesday evening.

England v Qatar
  • Maurice Revello Tournament
  • 5.30pm, Friday 1 June 2018
  • Stade Parsemain, Fos-sur-Mer
  • Live on FreeSports

And they are now approaching Friday’s clash with Qatar with hopes of getting three points and some goals added to their tally to overtake Mexico in the group rankings and progress to the semi-final.

"We're here to win it,” said goalkeeper Woodman.

“England have won it the last two times and this squad, we like winning trophies, so we've come here with the aim of winning again.

"It was a very difficult game, it's always hard playing against Mexico having played against them before twice.

"They're a good pressing side, but I felt we were the better team and had the better chances so we were a little bit disappointed, but we'll carry on in the next game."

With a number of Aidy Boothroyd’s squad unavailable for this year’s tournament due to age restrictions, the head coach has taken a chance to look at more of his options with a number of new faces in the group.

And the Newcastle United stopper, who enjoyed a loan spell with Aberdeen last season, says the group have quickly adapted to a fresh dynamic.

The Young Lions line-up to face Mexico on Tuesday evening

 

"It's a new group with some new players making their debuts which is always good,” he added.

"We've also got some more experienced players like [Lewis] Cooky and Tammy [Abraham] who have been in the senior team, so it's a different group to what we've been used to but as a team we've handled it all very well."

Boothroyd has also set down a challenge for his players to find their range in front of goal on Friday, as they bid for a spot in the semi-final.

"We have to finish really strongly, as Mexico have a better goal difference and top the group so we'll have to attack,” explained the head coach.

"It'll be a difficult game as they always are, but we'll make sure we have every player ready and available if needed."

Friday's game will be shown live on FreeSports' Facebook channel.

By FA Staff