England U21s host Ukraine U21s at The Vitality Stadium tonight, with a squad littered with young Premier League talent, writes Zack Walker.
This is only the second international break that interim manager, Ben Futcher has had with this squad, as previous manager, Lee Carsley, is in charge of the England senior men’s team on an interim basis.
There will be local interest as AFC Bournemouth’s own Alex Scott has made his way into the squad.
England will be looking to steal the top spot of the group from Ukraine and automatically qualify for the Youth Euro Championships.
If they do not win this game, they will not be able to finish first and will have to qualify through being one of the six best runners up.
Ukraine come into the game in a rich vein of form having won all 8 of their previous games in the qualifying group.
The Three Lions look to win this one after Ukraine beat them 3-2 in stoppage time last October.
England should certainly be up for this one in the sold-out Vitality Stadium which will host 11,000+ fans.
This is the first time since 2022 AFC Bournemouth’s Vitality Stadium has played host to the U21s.
Adam Wharton, who was dropped from the men’s senior team, has pulled out of the U’21s team due to injury, with Teden Mengi replacing him.
Another name to note is Morgan Rogers who has set the Premier League alight in the first few months with an incredible run of form for Aston Villa.
The action kicks off this evening at 7.45pm
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