After three weeks of planning and preparation, Aidy Boothroyd says his England Under-19s side are ready for action at the Euro Finals.
The Young Lions squad head out to Germany later this week ahead of their group stage opener with France next Tuesday.
And with Boothroyd having now named his 18-man squad for the trip, the head coach says he can’t wait to get started after coming through their qualifying campaign with flying colours, culminating in a 2-0 victory over Spain in the Elite Round in March.
UEFA European U19 Championship
The Finals
10-24 July 2016
Germany
Live on Eurosport
"I’m really excited, we’ve still got a bit of work to do to be ready but we’ve spoken about getting the best players in the best condition and well prepared for a tournament," said Boothroyd.
"It’s a Championship year and it’s an opportunity to go and compete with our European cousins.
"So far, so good and we’re all really excited, the players are looking forward to it and we can’t wait to get out there."
As well as France, England will take on the Netherlands and Croatia in Group B knowing that they need to finish in the top two to reach the semi-final, where they could face either hosts Germany, Italy, Portugal or Austria from Group A.
That would also see qualify for the 2017 U20 World Cup, which is Boothroyd’s first target before aiming for the Euro title.
🎥 FATV have been with the U19s for their #U19EURO preparations. You can watch the full feature later this week. https://t.co/efk2k68IJ4
— England (@England) July 6, 2016
"The aim is to qualify for the World Cup in South Korea next year, so we can get another tough experience into the players," he revealed.
"In order to do that, we’ve got to finish in the top two of the group so it will be difficult because we’re playing the likes of Holland, France and Croatia.
"They are all very strong teams and powerhouses in Europe, but we want to get into the semi-finals and we want to get into the final and we want to win it.
"We’ve got to do all we can to be able to perform the best we can to go and do that."
The Young Lions kick-off the Euros in Heidenheim against France at 6.30pm on Tuesday 12 July.
They then face the Netherlands on Friday 15 July in Ulm, before returning to the Heidenheim Arena for the final group game with Croatia on Monday 18 July.
