FC Slovacko’s modest Mestsky Stadion, tucked away behind a park in the small eastern Czech town of Uherske Hradiste, is not the most auspicious of venues from which to start a bid to win a first continental title in 31 years but it is where England’s Under-21 side will do just that against Portugal on Thursday night.
It is a serene setting but the first turbulence in an otherwise perfect preparation for the European Championship came on Wednesday with the news that John Stones had suffered a suspected concussion in training. The FA’s concussion protocols, which require at least a six-day rest for suspected victims, mean he will miss the opening fixture and England’s game against Sweden on Sunday.
The Everton defender, perhaps the keystone of Gareth Southgate’s back four, picked up the injury in a collision with the goalkeeper Jack Butland during set-piece practice. “He is obviously bitterly disappointed having been really excited about coming to the tournament,” said Southgate. “So for him to miss the start is a great shame for him personally. But they are such a tight-knit group; it gives them even more motivation to try to progress.”
Stones’s absence is likely to mean a central defensive partnership of Leicester’s Liam Moore and Ben Gibson of Middlesbrough, two players who featured during the team’s undefeated qualifying campaign. “We’ve said all along you have got to be prepared for setbacks and dealing with unexpected events and this is one of those,” said Southgate.
“It’s happened to a few teams. I know of a couple of others who have lost players already. What is good is that throughout qualifying we have always used this squad and we have been forced to make changes. It means we can trust everybody who goes in and everybody is ready to play. That is the important thing.”
England are unbeaten against Portugal at under-21 level in their last four meetings, a run that stretches back to 2003, when Helder Postiga and Ricardo Quaresma were in the Portugal side. These days the team’s chief threats are Monaco’s Bernardo Silva and the Sporting Lisbon midfielders William Carvalho and João Mário but, while the side won 12 out of 12 in their qualifying group, they have not tasted victory in their three matches since overcoming Holland 7-4 in the two-leg play-off.
One of those failures came against England back in November, with Southgate’s side running out 3-1 winners at Turf Moor. That scoreline does not overly concern the Portugal manager, Rui Jorge – “It is a different game with different performers in a different environment” – and those looking for less positive portents could point to England’s failure to win a game in the finals of this competition since 2009. But optimism is running rife in the squad and Southgate is confident that the side will cope with opening-night nerves.
“We are not asking them to raise a level,” he said. “I always remember talking to Roy Keane and him training against Nicky Butt. He would say that’s the hardest game of the week for him. When he was going into a Saturday it wasn’t a problem. When our defence are doing a session they have to mark our strikers. I don’t think they will have a harder test than that so that should give them belief in what they are doing.”
Most prominent among those strikers is Tottenham’s Harry Kane who after 31 goals for Spurs last season is likely to lead the line while Saido Berahino and Danny Ings loiter either in the wings or on the wing. The selection decisions that Southgate makes could potentially threaten the esprit de corps but the head coach is confident that a hitherto harmonious atmosphere will be maintained.
“It is difficult to say whether it is unusual in an under-21 group but I would say it’s rare I’ve seen a group quite as close as this,” said Southgate. “Obviously that is going to be challenged now because you pick a team and 10 or 12 will be disappointed. So I said to them: ‘This is a real test of how close you are and how you are going to respond to this.’ That’s another key fact in progressing. The group that are the opposition in training now have really got to keep focused. John [Stones] is a classic example of why. But I have to say I didn’t think it would be an issue and it hasn’t been.”
