England Under 21s skipper Eddie Nketiah has warned his team-mates they cannot be complacent as they prepare for the European Championships
- Arsenal striker Eddie Nketiah wants the Young Lions to cut out ‘sloppiness’
- The Under 21s beat Turkey 2-1 at Turf Moor on Tuesday and Nketiah scored
- Young Lions boss Aidy Boothroyd insists he knows how he wants his team to play
- Under 21s boast an impressive record having won seven of their eight qualifiers
England Under 21 captain Eddie Nketiah claimed this camp showed they cannot simply expect to roll opponents over with the European Championships on the horizon.
Nketiah was among those who led constructive criticism of recent performances following Tuesday’s 2-1 win over Turkey and last week’s disappointing 3-3 draw in Andorra.
The Arsenal striker is hoping the Young Lions can eradicate their sloppiness in possession during next month’s fixtures – their last meet-up before March’s group stages.
Eddie Nketiah has been vocal in his constructive criticism of the England Under 21s
The Under 21s beat Turkey 2-1 at Turf Moor on Tuesday with Nketiah (No 9) on the scoresheet
‘We’re preparing for tournament football and sometimes you have to win gritty,’ Nketiah said. ‘We want to win by a much more comfortable margin. We moved it too slowly, sloppy on the ball.
‘It’s not always going to go your way in international football, you won’t always dominate teams. There are teams that can hurt us. Everyone has a voice in this group of players, we are very open.’
Manager Aidy Boothroyd, whose side have won seven of their eight qualifiers, wants to pick his best XI for November’s matches against Albania and Andorra.
The Young Lions suffered an embarrassing 3-3 draw away to minnows Andorra last week
‘We know we’ve got quite a bit to do. I’ve got the core in my mind for the Euros and how I want us to play,’ Boothroyd said.
‘We’ve got to be better at organising our time towards the end of the game. We’ve had a discussion on how we’ve got to get better, especially the defensive side.
‘Thankfully, the players were all in the dressing room and there was constructive criticism flying around, making sure that we learn from it.’
