U21s’ extra edge for Scots clash at Riverside
England Under-21s will have an “extra edge” in tomorrow night’s European Championship qualifier against old rivals Scotland at Middlesbrough’s Riverside Stadium.
That’s the view of Under-21 boss Aidy Boothroyd as England look to build on an encouraging start to their Group Four campaign.
Boothroyd’s lads, fresh from beating Latvia 3-0 and drawing 1-1 with Holland last month, said: “We’re really excited, and everyone’s looking forward to it.
“The four points from two games we’ve had so far is a pleasing return and this is another important match for us.
“We’re a new group and hopefully we can continue the progress we’ve made so far.
“Playing against the Scots gives it that extra edge – they’ll be just as up for it as we are and it’s a really good test for us.
“We wanted the match to be close to the border, because it means they will bring a few fans down, and we know the fans in Middlesbrough will help make it a terrific atmosphere.”
Boro have defender Dael Fry in the squad for the match, and he won praise from Boothroyd.
“Like a lot of the lads, Dael had a brilliant summer winning the World Cup with the Under-20s,” he said. “We’re happy to see him building on that with Boro this season.
“Dael earned experience of the tough side of the Football League with Rotherham (on loan) last year and he will have learned a lot from that.
“Now he’s got Ben Gibson alongside him – and Ben will talk your ears off – so he’ll continue that learning process.
“It’s great for an area and a club like Middlesbrough to see two local lads playing together in the defence as well as they have.”
Leicester left-back Ben Chilwell has withdrawn from the Under-21 squad for the Scotland game, and Tuesday’s visit to minnows Andorra, because of a knee problem.
Arsenal’s Ainsley Maitland-Niles (knock) and Everton defender Jonjoe Kenny (back) missed training at St George’s Park yesterday as they have undergone treatment for minor knocks but remain in contention to face Scotlandy.
Boothroyd said: “It’s not serious. Ben came in, we scanned him but we decided it would be best he goes back to his club.
“We’ve got a couple more to assess. We have Ainsley and Jonjoe, they are both going for scans. They were only precautionary so we’ll know where we are with them. We’ve got a couple (of players) on stand-by.”
Tickets for the Riverside match (7.45pm kick-off ) are priced £10 for adults and £5 for under-18s, over-55s and students, with family tickets at £20 for two adults and two children.