England U21 coach steps down after failure at Euros
LONDON (AP) — The coach of England’s under-21s has quit after the team was eliminated from the European Championship at the group stage.
Aidy Boothroyd’s contract was due to expire at the conclusion of the tournament in June but he has decided to leave early after five years in the role, England’s Football Association said Friday.
An England team featuring a number of regular starters in the Premier League lost to Portugal and Switzerland in last month’s group stage before a 2-1 win against Croatia that didn’t prove enough for Boothroyd’s side to progress.
Under Boothroyd, England also failed to get out of its group at the under-21 Euros in 2019.
Boothroyd had described his job as “utterly impossible” because the best players available for the under-21 team, such as Manchester City's Phil Foden and Borussia Dortmund's Jude Bellingham, ended up being picked in Gareth Southgate’s senior squad.
___
More AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
HEADLINES
- Dutch club Vitesse relegated after being docked 18 points for ties to Abramovich
- Man United's shake-up continues with Wilcox joining as technical director
- Guardiola: Palmer wanted to leave Man City for 2 seasons
- Everton must 'give more' in survival fight, says Dyche
- Man City suffer Haaland injury scare before FA Cup semi, De Bruyne fit