England’s Under-21s will play their 2017 UEFA European Under-21 Championship Finals opener against Sweden this evening (5pm kick-off BST).
The tournament itself is being held in Poland and Derby County are represented by first-team duo Will Hughes and Jonathan Mitchell in Aidy Boothroyd’s final squad.
Hughes is competing for a place in the Three Lions’ midfield while goalkeeper Mitchell, along with Manchester City’s on-loan Norwich City custodian Angus Gunn, is expected to act as back-up for Jordan Pickford – who joined Everton for a club record-breaking £30 Million from Sunderland on Thursday.
England’s Under-21s have suffered group stage exits from the competition in the last two tournaments, in Israel 2013 and then Czech Republic two years ago.
This time around, placed in Group A alongside Sweden, Slovakia and hosts Poland, there’s an air of confidence that Boothroyd’s side can ride on the back of the success of England’s Under-20s following their World Cup success last weekend.
Stay tuned to dcfc.co.uk for a review of whether Hughes and Mitchell featured for England’s Under-21s later today.
