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

England U21s striker Dominic Solanke enjoying international week and Euro preparation

Tuesday 20 Nov 2018
Dominic Solanke has been a regular goalscorer during the U21 EURO qualifying stage

Watch the U21s in training ahead of the Denmark game in the video above. 

Dominic Solanke believes there’s still work to do for England U21s as they continue to prepare for next summer’s Euro Finals.

The Liverpool striker is one of the key players in Aidy Boothroyd’s squad and underlined that with two goals in last week’s win over Italy.

But with lots of players at Boothroyd’s disposal and the core of a group who have won honours at international level previously, Solanke knows how important this month’s trip has been.

Denmark v England
  • U21 International Match
  • 5pm, Tuesday 20 November
  • Blue Water Arena, Esbjerg, Denmark
  • Live on BT Sport

"It shows the depth in the squad," said the former Chelsea man, who helped fire the U20s to World Cup victory and secured the Golden Boot in the process last year.

"There’s always going to be people in and out of form and in and out of the senior team as well, so it’s important we’ve got a lot of players who can step in when needed.

"That’s what we’ll need when we go to the tournament next summer.

"A lot of the England youth teams are doing well at the moment so every tournament that we’re going to, we’re going to try and win it.

"We’ve got a such a good bunch of lads who have done well in a number of tournaments, our age group won the U17 Euros and the World Cup so to go and win this would be really positive."

That Euro preparation continues on Tuesday evening when the Young Lions face another of their potential opponents next summer in the shape of Denmark.

Solanke has been a regular for the Young Lions over the years and also has one senior cap to his name

 

"We know it’s another good opponent and that we need to do what we can before the summer, so we need to practise playing as a team and getting to know each other more," he added.

"After the qualifiers, we wanted to play the best nations who are going to be at the tournament so it was nice to play Italy first.

"We know that they’re a good team and they know we’re a good team, so it was good to play them early and put a stamp on it."

For the 21-year-old, coming away with England this season has also meant a chance to get minutes under his belt on the pitch, with his action at Anfield limited so far this term.

He’s responded too, his two goals in Ferrara last Thursday followed on from his strike against Andorra last month which helped secure England’s place in next June’s Finals.

"It’s always nice coming away and getting minutes, especially for your country," he admits.

"Obviously everyone wants to play for their country and you want to go back and fight at your club, but to have a break and get some minutes is nice."

Tuesday's game will be screened live on BT Sport from 4.45pm.

By FA Staff