Jake Forster-Caskey believes the England Under 21 team have the ability, confidence and togetherness to win this summer’s European Championship in the Czech Republic.
This is the England team’s fifth straight appearance in the finals.
They have failed to get out the group stage in the past two editions but there is a belief within Gareth Southgate’s side that such an embarrassing early exit will be avoided this time.
There confidence is such that Brighton & Hove Albion midfielder Forster-Caskey believes they can bring home the trophy.
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“I believe we can win it,” he said. “I think everybody believes that we can win it.
“We’re all full of confidence and we’re training well. I think anything can happen.
“We’ve got some great individuals here, the likes of Harry [Kane] and other players that have been to the first team and come back down.
“We’ve got some great players and great team spirit, so hopefully that takes us far in the tournament.”
The squad are based at Olomouc and open their campaign Thursday in a Group B opener against Portugal.
Southgate has stuck with the players that got them to the finals, rather than selecting eligible senior players, such as Raheem Sterling, Jack Wilshere and Phil Jones, and that has resulted in a close bond in the squad.
Forster-Caskey, though, was never concerned about losing his place to a more experienced compatriot and is determined to make his mark this summer.
“The players have got us here and the players are in the first team are first-team players,” he said.
“Maybe that was a difficult one to choose from, but we’re a tight-knit group and we’ll just do the best we can when the games come around.”
Portugal will be a tough first test, as they made the finals with the only perfect record in qualification.
Southgate’s men, though, will head to Uherske Hradiste with the confidence boost gained from a 3-1 victory against Portugal in a November friendly, when Danny Ings scored a double.
The two-week-long tournament opens Wednesday with the Czech Republic taking on Denmark at Prague’s Stadion Eden.
The hosts will be seeking to go one better than their last competitive meeting with Denmark at the venue, a 2-2 draw in November.
The 20,800-seat stadium, home to the Slavia Prague club, is sold out for Wednesday night’s match which marks the hosts’ return to this level after an absence of four years.
“Almost everywhere you can feel that a big event is going to start,” Sparta Prague midfielder Ladislav Krejci told Uefa.com.
“There are adverts on TV, billboards, fans are talking about it, it is great to see that such a big tournament is going to be played in our country. For all of us, it’s a once-in-a-lifetime occasion.”
Under 21 European Championship groups and fixtures
Group A Czech Republic, Denmark, Germany, Serbia
Fixtures (in UAE time)
Wednesday
Czech Republic v Denmark, 8pm
Germany v Serbia, 10.45pm
June 20
Serbia v Czech Republic, 8pm
Germany v Denmark, 10.45pm
June 23
Czech Republic v Germany 10.45pm
Denmark v Serbia, 10.45pm
Group B England, Italy, Portuga, Sweden
Fixtures (in UAE time)
Thursday
Italy v Sweden, 8pm
England v Portugal, 10.45pm
June 21
Sweden v England, 8pm
Italy v Portugal, 10.45pm
June 24
England v Italy, 10.45pm
Portugal v Sweden, 10.45pm
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Specs
Engine: Electric motor generating 54.2kWh (Cooper SE and Aceman SE), 64.6kW (Countryman All4 SE)
Power: 218hp (Cooper and Aceman), 313hp (Countryman)
Torque: 330Nm (Cooper and Aceman), 494Nm (Countryman)
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh158,000 (Cooper), Dh168,000 (Aceman), Dh190,000 (Countryman)
Farasan Boat: 128km Away from Anchorage
Director: Mowaffaq Alobaid
Stars: Abdulaziz Almadhi, Mohammed Al Akkasi, Ali Al Suhaibani
Rating: 4/5
If you go
The flights
Etihad (etihad.com) flies from Abu Dhabi to Luang Prabang via Bangkok, with a return flight from Chiang Rai via Bangkok for about Dh3,000, including taxes. Emirates and Thai Airways cover the same route, also via Bangkok in both directions, from about Dh2,700.
The cruise
The Gypsy by Mekong Kingdoms has two cruising options: a three-night, four-day trip upstream cruise or a two-night, three-day downstream journey, from US$5,940 (Dh21,814), including meals, selected drinks, excursions and transfers.
The hotels
Accommodation is available in Luang Prabang at the Avani, from $290 (Dh1,065) per night, and at Anantara Golden Triangle Elephant Camp and Resort from $1,080 (Dh3,967) per night, including meals, an activity and transfers.
INDIA SQUAD
Rohit Sharma (captain), Shikhar Dhawan (vice-captain), KL Rahul, Suresh Raina, Manish Pandey, Dinesh Karthik (wicketkeeper), Deepak Hooda, Washington Sundar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Axar Patel, Vijay Shankar, Shardul Thakur, Jaydev Unadkat, Mohammad Siraj and Rishabh Pant (wicketkeeper)
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
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Managing the separation process
- Choose your nursery carefully in the first place
- Relax – and hopefully your child will follow suit
- Inform the staff in advance of your child’s likes and dislikes.
- If you need some extra time to talk to the teachers, make an appointment a few days in advance, rather than attempting to chat on your child’s first day
- The longer you stay, the more upset your child will become. As difficult as it is, walk away. Say a proper goodbye and reassure your child that you will be back
- Be patient. Your child might love it one day and hate it the next
- Stick at it. Don’t give up after the first day or week. It takes time for children to settle into a new routine.And, finally, don’t feel guilty.
Globalization and its Discontents Revisited
Joseph E. Stiglitz
W. W. Norton & Company
Profile
Company: Justmop.com
Date started: December 2015
Founders: Kerem Kuyucu and Cagatay Ozcan
Sector: Technology and home services
Based: Jumeirah Lake Towers, Dubai
Size: 55 employees and 100,000 cleaning requests a month
Funding: The company’s investors include Collective Spark, Faith Capital Holding, Oak Capital, VentureFriends, and 500 Startups.
SCORES IN BRIEF
Lahore Qalandars 186 for 4 in 19.4 overs
(Sohail 100,Phil Salt 37 not out, Bilal Irshad 30, Josh Poysden 2-26)
bt Yorkshire Vikings 184 for 5 in 20 overs
(Jonathan Tattersall 36, Harry Brook 37, Gary Ballance 33, Adam Lyth 32, Shaheen Afridi 2-36).
Vidaamuyarchi
Director: Magizh Thirumeni
Stars: Ajith Kumar, Arjun Sarja, Trisha Krishnan, Regina Cassandra
Rating: 4/5
THE SPECS
Engine: 6.75-litre twin-turbocharged V12 petrol engine
Power: 420kW
Torque: 780Nm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Price: From Dh1,350,000
On sale: Available for preorder now
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The specs: 2018 Volkswagen Teramont
Price, base / as tested Dh137,000 / Dh189,950
Engine 3.6-litre V6
Gearbox Eight-speed automatic
Power 280hp @ 6,200rpm
Torque 360Nm @ 2,750rpm
Fuel economy, combined 11.7L / 100km
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
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