England youngsters impressing
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On Thursday night, England hammered Montenegro 7-0 to qualify for Euro 2020. In truth, the Three Lions have been a cut above the other teams in the group.
Their only blip in Group A was a 2-1 defeat in the Czech Republic. The other games Gareth Southgate’s team have won with ease and swagger.
What was promising for England was the fact that their starting line-up was so young. In fact, the Three Lions starting eleven was the youngest ever featured in a World Cup or European Championship game with an average age of 23 years and 255 days.
England impressed at last summers World Cup by making the semi-finals of the tournament. Since then, boss Southgate has integrated some bright young players, who are enjoying promising starts to their careers.
Against Montenegro, the likes of Harry Winks and Mason Mount impressed, having previously featured very little for the national team. England’s wingers Marcus Rashford and Jadon Sancho have featured more regularly. However, the pair still put in stellar displays, specifically Rashford who the Montenegrin defence struggled to subdue.
The qualifiers may have been against inferior opposition, but there now seems a better balance to the team than at the World Cup, even without one of their star players in Manchester City’s Raheem Sterling.
Another positive aspect of the game was the fact that more youngsters in the shape of Joe Gomez, James Maddison and Tammy Abraham also gained some minutes in the international game.
The latter pair impressed. Maddison brought his flair and creativity to the party, while Abraham scored his first international goal for England. Nobody will get carried away by England’s results against the teams in Group A.
The real test of England’s promising crop of youngsters will be at Euro 2020. However, the signs are positive that the young Three Lions team will not be overawed by many teams in the international game.
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