INTERNATIONALSPECIAL Team England a

England’s kids are in good nick

AIDY BOOTHROYD believes it is a huge compliment that foreign clubs are trying to poach England’s best kids.

The England Under-21 manager is set to play Reiss Nelson, below, against Denmark today.

The teenager, excelling on loan at Hoffenheim from Arsenal, is making his name in Germany. Jadon Sancho has also been a hit at Dortmund.

England’s age group sides below the U21s have been inundated with scouts from European clubs looking to give the youngsters a fast track to first-team football.

Boothroyd said: “If clubs from other parts of the world are trying to nick our players, we should take it as a really big compliment – so should the clubs that have produced them. If the players are brave enough and smart enough to try a different route, you have to admire that.” Boothroyd is looking forward to Friday’s Euro finals draw in Italy. He has a core team of nine in mind but admits senior team call-ups could see him plundering younger age-group stars. Boothroyd said: “Gareth Southgate is promoting young players. It then gives me the chance to pick younger players to come into the U21s. “It has given Reiss Nelson an opportunity, Phil Foden too. Lloyd Kelly has come in and is doing very well along with Jay Dasilva. We are fortunate that the talent pool is big. It is a really good place for us to be.” REPORTS IT WAS how we imagined it would feel playing for England at Wembley when we were in the school playground so many years ago.

When the goalposts were school jumpers, sleeves thrust through the wire fencing, when nobody was worried about concerns over image rights or whether we would be hit by a paper aeroplane midway through the second half.

From the moment the call came, we would be feeling a mixture of pride and excitement, roared on by the country as a whole.

That is what playing England should be like.

So why does it feel like that is only happening now?

“Any time you go in the dressing room, or walking around the hotel the night before the Croatia game, it was like a youth club,” manager Gareth Southgate said.

“You can hear them laughing and joking and having fun, and they’re relaxed and they’re enjoying being together and enjoying playing.

“We want them to enjoy wearing the shirt. When you see such young players play with that expression and freedom, that’s what we want to create.

“It’s not a case of what we say, it’s how they feel about coming and being a part of it. When they feel the support of the fans as well, then that makes it extra special for them because it really means more.”

Essentially, the young players are dragging the sticks-in-themud with them.

There was a time when the FA shied away from ‘Football’s Coming Home’ as, after a number of failed World Cup hosting bids, it was perceived to carry a message of antagonistic arrogance that made the rest of the world uncomfortable.

And that seemed particularly true of Croatia, who after their World Cup semi-final triumph had attached specific negative comments to the song that became this country’s adopted national anthem during the tournament.

Yet despite the comments of the Croatians – or perhaps partly because of them – it was the first track that rang out over the Wembley PA following Sunday’s 2-1 victory, a result for that earned a sliver of revenge following England’s heartbreak in Russia.

For the fans that provided the best Wembley atmosphere in years, it is that song which encapsulates the feeling of a whole nation.

In the middle of the track comes the lyric, “but I know they can play”, and that is the spirit the current England internationals seem to have tuned into, whoever players may be.

As a result, even those who took England to the brink of glory four months ago cannot be guaranteed a place when the next semi-final arrives.

“We have got lots more players in the system that can play that way and they are all coming through an academy system too, where they are comfortable with the ball and those have been encouraged by their clubs to play in a similar way,” Southgate said.

“It started a year ago, with the games in November against Germany and Brazil. When we look at the profile of the younger players coming through, that energy is important, pace is important – our back four is as quick as I can remember from my time being involved with England.

“That allows you to play higher up the pitch and to push the game forward.

“I think I said a couple of years ago that their experiences with their club are also going to help us as a national team –

We are trying to create young players with freedom of expression