UK Edition
James Ward-Prowse says England must 'put things right' after succession of tournament failures
England go into the second group game of the Euro Under-21s Championships on Monday effectively already playing knockout football, with manager Aidy Boothroyd admitting that “without a doubt, we have got to win”.
Having drawn their opening tie against Sweden, with goalkeeper Jordan Pickford’s penalty save preserving a point in a goalless stalemate, England face Slovakia who shocked the hosts Poland. A goal down inside a minute, the Slovaks won 2-1 and top Group A with only the winners guaranteed a place in the semi-finals.
So, just four days into these finals, it means England probably have to win, which is something they have struggled to do. The draw also meant that, in their past 10 matches in this competition – including the finals in 2011, 2013 and 2015 – they have won just one game and finished bottom of the group in their past three campaigns.
Boothroyd knows the pressure is on and on him also, not least because England were disappointing against the Swedes. “This is a tournament where there is no grace,” he said. “You have to hit the ground running if you want to qualify by topping the group.”
He added: “We didn’t play anywhere near as well as we can [against Sweden]. What was important is that we didn’t lose and we are on the board.”
That maybe so although Boothroyd was also, rightly, asked about the impressive performance that Spain delivered in thrashing Macedonia. Did they show they could win this competition? “I think they did,” he said. “I think that group in particular is shaping up to provide the winners.” Also in Group B are Portugal, who were impressive in their win over Serbia.
Spain’s win included a hat-trick from Marco Asensio and, if England fail, the argument will be raised that if a Champions League final goalscorer from Real Madrid can play for his country in this tournament then why was Marcus Rashford not selected? England appear light up front, and only managed a James Ward-Prowse free-kick on target against Sweden. They were reliant on Tammy Abraham, who has just had a season on loan at Bristol City, and Fulham’s Cauley Woodrow.
In fairness, Dominic Solanke would have been included had he not been needed by the Under-20s, who won their World Cup in South Korea, with the Liverpool striker ending up leading goalscorer in those finals.
The counter-argument is that, unlike Rashford, Asensio is not established in his country’s senior squad. But if England struggle to score, again, questions will be asked not least because in Rashford’s one appearance for the Under-21s in the qualifying campaign he claimed a hat-trick against Norway.
Ward-Prowse dealt with that issue. “He only played the one game against Norway. Lads have been there the whole two years,” the captain argued. “That was a decision that [England manager] Gareth [Southgate] had to make, we respect that. The [Spanish] selection process is obviously different... Whether Marcus is here or not, we have quality in abundance up top who can create opportunities and score goals. It’s only a matter of time until you see that.”
The Football Association are out here in force, with Southgate and his assistant Steve Holland attending the opening two matches before heading off to the Confederations Cup in Russia, along with technical director Dan Ashworth. They are braced for a backlash if the Under-21s fail and do not build on the sense of euphoria around the Under-20s’ triumph.
That may be harsh – looking at one finals in isolation – but England could do with maintain the present momentum in their under-age groups, not least with the continuing concerns over the depth of talent available to the senior squad, who were humbled last week in their friendly away to France.
Ward-Prowse was involved in these finals two years ago in the Czech Republic and, while he denied there was a hangover against the Swedes from the previous campaign, there is a sense that he needs to “put things right”.
“There’s six or seven of us from the last time so we’ve all got those feelings and that hunger to get things right,” Ward-Prowse said. “We want to make sure that we’re not having those same feelings again… it’s not a nice feeling when you don’t reach the level that you should do. The team and the way that we were playing two years ago... we should have gone on further. But that gives us all an incentive.”
England will not want to endure another such disappointment. “It’s knockout football now without a doubt,” Boothroyd said. “We’ve got to win and then win the next away after that [the final group match against hosts Poland on Thursday]. But we have to beat the Slovakians first. They have had a brilliant start.” For England, they will hope to finally launch their campaign.