Southgate's pride at 'rich crop of striking talent'

Thursday 19 Feb 2015
Gareth Southgate with Harry Kane
Gareth Southgate is proud to see his England Under-21s strike-force among the goals this season.

The Three Lions head coach has led his team to next summer’s Euro Finals with the likes of Saido Berahino, Harry Kane and Danny Ings all vying for places throughout qualification.

In addition to that, both Patrick Bamford and Callum Wilson are riding high in the goalscoring charts in the Championship with Middlesbrough and AFC Bournemouth respectively, and been included in previous squads.

England U21s v Germany

International U21 Match
7.45pm, Monday 30 March 2015
Riverside Stadium, Middlesbrough
Live on BT Sport
Call 0844 499 1234 for tickets

With all five players in tantalising form for their clubs over recent months, Baggies hitman Berahino has already tasted life with Roy Hodgson’s senior squad after being called-up for the games with Slovenia and Scotland following a strong start to the season.

Since then, Kane’s scoring exploits with Spurs and Ings’ performances for Burnley have also caught Hodgson’s eye.

And Southgate believes it all bodes well for June, when his squad travel to Czech Republic to face some of Europe’s top teams in the Finals.

"We’re very fortunate with the Under-21s group that we have players playing with a lot of confidence," said Southgate, whose side will face both Czech Republic and Germany next month.

England Under-21s

Saido Berahino in training for England

"There’s Saido, Harry and Danny Ings who are all scoring regularly in the Premier League.

"Patrick has forced himself into that group and we also have Callum Wilson who is up near the top of the scoring charts in the Championship.

"It’s a real rich crop of striking talent."

Southgate’s squad will face two fellow Euro Finalists next month, playing the host nation in Prague on Friday 27 March before taking on Germany at Middlesbrough’s Riverside Stadium on Monday 30 March.

You can buy tickets for the game in Middlesbrough now, click here for more details.

By Nicholas Veevers Content Manager - FA Owned Channels