England U-21s prepare for pre-Euro finals ‘friendly’ with Germany
England U-21 head coach Gareth Southgate returns to his old stomping ground, Middlesbrough’s Riverside stadium, as he prepares his side (15/8 chances for victory with Coral) for a friendly clash with bitter national rivals Germany (11/8 favourites).
The Young Lions come into the fixture on the back of beating Euro U-21 Championship hosts this summer Czech Republic on their own turf 1-0, with Swansea City loanee getting the sole goal. Tottenham-owned midfielder Carroll is a tempting 11/2 shout to net anytime again.
After watching recent U-21 star Harry Kane grab a goal just 79 seconds into his senior debut against Lithuania, players in Southgate’s side will be spurred on to prove they have what it takes to reach the next level too.
Southgate has a wealth of talent to call upon, despite a few absentees, namely Saido Berahino and Tom Ince, the latter rejected the chance to link up with this squad. But the likes of Burnley star striker Danny Ings and talented teenager Will Hughes (Derby County) can be backed at 5/4 and 6/1 respectively to score anytime.
Young Arsenal defender Calum Chambers is also set to feature and, following the controversy surrounding Ince, he said: “It’s an honour and you should never turn it down. When I was asked, of course I was going to come and play.
“There is a smooth pathway between the U-21s and the seniors now and there was an opportunity for me to play, so I jumped at it because I love to play for my country.
“Players should want to play for their country at any level and I’ve played for the senior team a few times, but that would never make me want to stop playing for the U-21s.”
Meanwhile, for the Germans, their boss Horst Hrubesch also has a talented team at his disposal, with Barcelona’s Marc-Andre ter Stegen, Dortmund duo Matthias Ginter and Moritz Leitner, on loan at Stuttgart, Liverpool’s Emre Can, rising star Max Meyer and Gunners attacker Serge Gnabry available for selection.
Leitner, Gnabry, Meyer and Kaiserslautern striker Philipp Hofmann will be the visitors’ main threats in front of goal, and are respective 5/1, 4/1, 11/4 and 7/4 chances to net anytime.
This match will be a repeat of the 2009 European U-21 Championship final, in which a strong Germany side, which had the likes of Manuel Neuer, Mats Hummels, and Mesut Ozil, thrashed England 4-0. They are 66/1 to win win by that scoreline once more.
