England Under-21s boss Aidy Boothroyd has claimed he has an "utterly impossible job", with his team on the verge of an exit from Euro 2021.
Boothroyd's youngsters have lost their first two group matches in the rearranged tournament, to Switzerland and Portugal respectively.
The defeats have left England needing to beat Croatia by at least two goals on Wednesday, while hoping that Portugal overcome Switzerland, to reach the quarter-finals, which take place later this year.
Jadon Sancho, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Mason Mount, Jude Bellingham and Phil Foden are among the star names Boothroyd could have had at his disposal for the competition, though all of them are now seen as senior players, with only Liverpool full-back Alexander-Arnold not selected in Gareth Southgate's squad for this month's World Cup qualifiers.
Nevertheless, Boothroyd has still been able to call upon several players who are regulars for Premier League teams, though one of those – Chelsea's Callum Hudson-Odoi – has suffered an injury and will miss the Croatia clash.
There has been doubt over Boothroyd's position, with England U21s having failed to make it out of the group in the 2019 Euros, after falling out in the semi-finals in 2017, but the former Watford manager has defended his work.
"I know the senior men's job has been called the impossible job but the U21s is the utterly impossible job," he told reporters.
"The reason is the amount of players who have to be produced for the senior team and we are expected to win.
"There's a reason why we haven't won this for 37 years and why we haven't progressed as much as we thought we would, because our primary aim is to get players through to Gareth [Southgate].
"Could you imagine a reserve-team manager knocking on the door of a senior manager at a club and saying 'listen boss, I think today you should let me have the best player to win the reserve championship'. That just wouldn't happen.
"The only team that needs to win is the senior team. Everywhere else, winning is part of it, drawing is part of it and having adversity is part of it.
"The reason I say that it is the utterly impossible job is because new players come in, younger players come in and the wheel starts again.
"My job isn't to say to Gareth we should have Jude, Phil or Mason, it is about the senior team and it always will be.
"If someone is doing this job and hiding players and not allowing them to go forward then the system is flawed. I don't want to be the whinge bag to defend myself. They are facts but they are what the job is."
Boothroyd replaced Southgate as U21 boss, with the now England manager having impressed the FA during his stint in charge of the youth team.
Asked for his view on the U21s' disappointing campaign, Southgate told a news conference: "I think it's a difficult balance. Nobody really thinks about the U21s until you get to the finals, then you are judged.
"It's development football, although those players are good players, they're normally surrounded by experienced players. When they are playing as an age-group together, it's a different challenge.
"It's always difficult to be U21 head coach. The timing of this tournament, coinciding with World Cup qualifiers. We want to try to win tournaments, we've benefited from that when the U17s and U20s won the World Cup.
"But development football throws up all sorts of things. I went to a European Championship, we had a fantastic game with Portugal that we lost. You never know what generation the other countries have got. When the results don't go your way, you find out so much about the players."
Emma Hayes: Chelsea not overthinking semi-final against ‘world-class’ Barcelona
Emma Hayes insists Chelsea have not overanalysed “world-class” Barcelona ahead of their Champions League clash on Saturday.
Chelsea have travelled to Catalonia for the first leg of their semi-final 12 months on from the two clubs meeting at the same stage of the competition.
Barcelona prevailed 2-1 on aggregate on that occasion before overcoming Wolfsburg in Eindhoven to lift the trophy for the second time in three years.
Chelsea boss Hayes, speaking ahead ahead of this weekend’s first leg at Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys, said: “Barcelona have been the top team in Europe in recent years.
“Results have suggested that, they are world champions and European champions, but this is a football match and there’s two legs.
“Our job is to get ourselves in a position where we can come here and give them competition.
“You have to be in it to compete for it and you know that you’re going to face a team like Barcelona at some stage, and it happens to be at the semi-finals.
“We understand the team, we understand the opponent, and we respect them. They are world class and have unbelievable players.
“We’ve had a game Wednesday and we’ve only had the one training session today (Friday) so we’re not overthinking or overanalysing anything.”
Chelsea have never won the Women’s Champions League with their best performance being a final appearance in 2021 when Barcelona thrashed them 4-0.
Arsenal are the only English club to win the trophy, a distant 17 years ago in 2007.
“We just have to keep building on our experiences in Europe,” said Hayes. “No player needs motivation to play this game.
“Next week we get a little more time together on the grass to work on things between the two games, based on the learnings.
“For this game we have to keep doing the good things that we’ve been doing throughout Europe this year.”
Chelsea have received a double boost with England pair Millie Bright and Lauren James available for selection.
Club captain Bright has not played since November because of a knee injury, while James sat out Wednesday’s 3-0 victory over Aston Villa in the Women’s Super League.
Hayes said: “I always come from a tactical perspective, first and foremost, from what the needs are for that game.
“Of course, when you play three games directly after an international break, within a seven-day period, you have to utilise the squad.
“We certainly know that no matter the team we put out, we’re highly competitive and Wednesday demonstrated that. So many players came in and added much-needed energy.
“It’s not just the personnel, it’s about structures.
“When you’re playing against an opponent who’s going to have over 70 per cent of the ball, they’re going to have control of the ball and the game in that regard, how you defend spaces is important.”
Chelsea have confirmed the departure of Germany goalkeeper Ann-Katrin Berger to NJ/NY Gotham FC of the National Women’s Soccer League.
Berger, 33, made 114 appearances in five years at Chelsea and leaves the club having won four WSL titles, three FA Cups, two Conti Cups, one Community Shield and a Golden Glove.
Man Utd appoint Jason Wilcox as new technical director after leaving Southampton
Jason Wilcox has left Southampton to become Manchester United’s new technical director with immediate effect.
The 53-year-old becomes a key appointment at Old Trafford as part of United’s off-field overhaul following Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s arrival at the club.
Wilcox joined Championship side Southampton last summer as their director of football, making the switch from Manchester City where he developed a reputation for nurturing excellent young talent as well as recruiting some of the best prospects in the game.
A United statement read: “Jason Wilcox has joined Manchester United as technical director with immediate effect.
“He will work with all technical areas of the football department to achieve the highest standards of performance.
“Jason was previously director of football at Southampton and before that academy director at Manchester City.
“As a player he won the Premier League with Blackburn Rovers in 1995.”
A Saints statement read: “Southampton Football Club can today confirm that it has reluctantly agreed to allow director of football Jason Wilcox to join Manchester United, having reached an agreement with the Premier League side on an acceptable compensation fee.
“Whilst the club is naturally disappointed that Jason’s stay at Southampton has only lasted nine months, it wishes him well for the future.”
John Murtough stepped down as football director at Old Trafford last week.
United are looking to add Newcastle sporting director Dan Ashworth to their staff as Ratcliffe continues his off-field rebuild after taking a 27.7 per cent stake in the club.
Wilcox will report to the sporting director, who will have overall responsibility for football performance, recruitment and operations.
The PA news agency understands Darren Fletcher will continue to play a key role in the football leadership team working across the men’s first team and academy.
Maya Le Tissier signs new deal with Manchester United
England defender Maya Le Tissier has signed a new contract extension at Manchester United.
The centre-back joined United from Women’s Super League rivals Brighton in July 2022 and has gone on to make 59 appearances.
Her existing contract was due to expire next year but she has pledged her future to United, with the length of the deal not disclosed.
“I’m really happy to sign a contract extension with this great club and look forward to ending the season strong, while continuing to build for the future,” the 22-year-old said on www.manutd.com.
“A big thank you to all our fantastic fans for their great support since I joined, and I’m excited for many more winning moments together.”
Le Tissier, capped three times by England, was an ever-present last season as United reached a maiden FA Cup final and finished second in the WSL to qualify for the Champions League for the first time.
She has not missed a game in any competition this season and was last week instrumental in repelling Chelsea as United claimed a shock win to reach the FA Cup final for the second successive campaign.
“Maya has become a real fixture of our team,” United head coach Marc Skinner said. “For her to be playing every single minute like she has, is testament to her.
“We want to make Maya a key feature of our team for many years to come. Maya’s a leader and everybody at the club should be proud that she’s decided to sign for us long term.
“She has the right mentality and the right attitude – and is a perfect role model for the next generation. We look forward to working with her for many winning years to come.”
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