England Under-21s host the Kosovo Under-21s at Stadium MK on Tuesday in U21 Euro 2023 Qualification.
England's first qualifier in Romania was due to be played last week, but was postponed due to COVID-19 cases, whilst Kosovo won their opener back in June.
Match preview
© Reuters
England Under-21s begin a new chapter on Tuesday, with manager Lee Carsley due to take charge of his first game since replacing Aidy Boothroyd in July.
He will be looking to see this highly talented squad of youngsters fulfil its potential at last after numerous disappointing tournaments under Boothroyd, including exiting the last two U21 European Championships at the group stage.
Carsley was due to open his tenure last week with a trip to Romania Under-21s, but the match was postponed after two positive cases of COVID-19 within the England camp.
The identities of the players or staff forced into isolation have not been revealed, but the outbreak is not thought to have spread to other members of the playing squad or staff.
As a result of that postponement, the side has not played since their humiliating early exit from the U21 European Championships 2021 back in March.
After opening defeats to Switzerland Under-21s and Portugal Under-21s, a final group match win over Croatia Under-21s was still not enough to see England progress.
Carsley will be looking for a positive start on Tuesday to help erase the memories of that dreadful tournament.
As for Kosovo, they are looking to qualify for their first U21 European Championships since the national team was officially recognised by FIFA back in 2016.
The two previous qualifying campaigns for the 2019 and 2021 tournaments have seen Kosovo finish in fifth place in a group of six teams on both occasions.
The Kosovans did in fact meet the England Under-21s in the 2021 qualifying group, with the encounters played in September 2019 and September 2020.
Unfortunately for Tuesday's visitors, they lost on both occasions - 2-0 on their trip to England and 6-0 on home soil.
On a more positive note for Kosovo, though, they have already won their opening match in these qualifiers - by a 2-0 scoreline at home to Andorra Under-21s back in June.
- L
- L
- W
- W
Team News
© Reuters
As mentioned above, the identities of the two positive cases of COVID-19 in the England Under-21s camp have not been revealed, nor whether the cases were players, staff, or both.
Although there are plenty of players within the squad that have experience at this level, there are also a number of new faces to this age group, including St. Etienne goalkeeper Etienne Green and Liverpool's Harvey Elliott.
There will be a host of familiar faces on display in the England lineup, with many of the squad given chances at the highest level for their clubs in recent years.
One member of the squad who will definitely not be available for the Kosovo match is Liverpool's Curtis Jones. The midfielder is suspended for this one so misses out on Tuesday.
For the visitors, there appear to be no injury concerns ahead of the trip to England for manager Michael Nees.
A similar lineup to the one that beat Andorra back in June is to be expected, other than David Tobias Nreca-Bisinger, Qendrim Zyba and Rilind Nivokazi, who are not part of the squad this time around.
England Under-21s possible starting lineup:
Green; Aarons, Guehi, Samuels-Colwill, Thomas; Gallagher, Skipp; Madueke, Smith-Rowe, Elliott; Balogun
Kosovo Under-21s possible starting lineup:
Besson; A Pllana, Kurtulus, Sadriu, Hoxha; Zeqiri, Lushaku, Hoti, Veliu; Tusha, Sylisufaj
We say: England Under-21s 3-0 Kosovo Under-21s
This should be a comfortable win for the England Under-21s and nothing less will be expected. With the talent on display, particularly going forward, they should score plenty of goals as long as they have taken the new manager's tactics and style on board quickly.
Matthew Tranter
