MX23RW : Friday, April 2 10:09:54| >> :120:68815:68815:

Eddie Nketiah insists England Under-21s do not lack quality

Eddie Nketiah insists England Under-21s do not lack quality
© Reuters
England Under-21s must beat Croatia to stand a chance of qualifying.

England Under-21 captain Eddie Nketiah has denied the Young Lions have been caught out of their depth at Euro 2021.

They are on the brink of an early exit after losing their opening two games to Switzerland and Portugal.

Aidy Boothroyd's side can still reach the summer's knockout stages if they beat Croatia by two goals on Wednesday and Switzerland lose to Portugal.

The Young Lions have failed to have a shot on target from open play in Slovenia and, after breezing through qualifying unbeaten, have been poor at the tournament – although Nketiah insisted they have not been left floundering.

"No, I think obviously we have the quality. We have the players to deal with that jump," said the Arsenal striker.

England U21 v Albania U21 – UEFA Euro Under 21 Qualifying – Group 3 – Molineux
Eddie Nketiah says there is quality in the England Under-21 squad (Mike Egerton/PA)

"Obviously we're all playing at a good level at our clubs, which are at the highest level and you know the opposition are going to be difficult.

"They have made it very hard for us, but I think we've got to look at ourselves and see how we are performing and how, as a team collectively, we can perform better.

"It's a mix of things, obviously, football doesn't always go your way. It's been two games and two probably 'off games'.

"Against Switzerland we had a lot more of the ball and probably just lacked that penetration, but in the Portugal game I think, in the transitional moments, the final pass we failed to take full advantage of.

"It's been a disappointing first two games. We all know that. It's just about keeping our heads up and challenging ourselves to finish strongly in the Croatia game."

Nketiah also moved to ease the pressure off boss Boothroyd, with the manager out of contract in the summer.

He added: "That's on all of us, you know. We're all to blame for that. We all had sloppy moments in the game and it's just about cutting that out and playing to the best of our ability.

"We know we have the quality and we have shown in qualifying that we can score goals, so it's about producing that here and – like I said – taking that bit of extra care and detail with the final pass."

ID:441115:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:collect4975:

Click here for more stories about Eddie Nketiah

Click here for more stories about England Under-21s

Collect / Create New Data
Share this article now:
Did you know...?
Sergio Aguero in action for Manchester City on March 10, 2021
Read Next:
Sergio Aguero reflects on "indestructible bond" with Man City
>
Sports Mole Logo
Enter your email address to subscribe to Sports Mole's free daily transfer newsletter! Sent twice a day during the transfer window.

rhs 2.0
Todays Game Header Right
Championship
Scottish Cup
La Liga
Primeira Liga
League One
League Two
National League
National League North
National League South
Ukrainian Premier League
NIFL Premiership
League of Ireland Premier
Welsh Premier League
Belarusian Premier League
Segunda Division
Serie B
Eerste Divisie
Copa Diego Maradona
Australian A-League
J1 League
Premier League 2 - Div 2
Tables
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Manchester CityMan City30225364214371
2Manchester UnitedMan Utd29169456322457
3Leicester CityLeicester29175753322156
4Chelsea29149644251951
5West Ham UnitedWest Ham29147845351049
6Tottenham HotspurSpurs29146949301948
7Liverpool29137948361246
8Everton28144104037346
9Arsenal29126114032842
10Aston Villa28125113930941
11Leeds UnitedLeeds29123144547-239
12Crystal Palace29107123147-1637
13Wolverhampton WanderersWolves2998122838-1035
14Southampton2996143651-1533
15Burnley2989122237-1533
16Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton29711113236-432
17Newcastle UnitedNewcastle2977152848-2028
18Fulham30511142338-1526
19West Bromwich AlbionWest Brom2939172057-3718
20Sheffield UnitedSheff Utd2942231650-3414

Subscribe to our Newsletter


Transfer Talk Daily
Match previews - twice weekly
Morning Briefing (7am UTC)
Ultra close-up image of Kevin De Bruyne [NOT FOR USE IN ARTICLES]Get the latest transfer news, match previews and news direct to your inbox!