MX23RW : Sunday, November 17 07:42:59| >> :600:2843773:2843773:

Aidy Boothroyd to depart England Under-21s after Euros exit

Aidy Boothroyd to depart England Under-21s after Euros exit
© Reuters
Aidy Boothroyd had managed the age-group side at three major tournaments.

Aidy Boothroyd is leaving his role as England Under-21 manager, the Football Association has announced.

The 50-year-old's future had been in doubt after the Young Lions' early exit from Euro 2021 and his contract was due to expire in the summer.

Boothroyd guided the Young Lions to three European Championships – reaching the semi-finals in 2017 – after succeeding Gareth Southgate in 2016.

The ex-Watford boss wants to focus on a return to club football.

Boothroyd said: "It's been the greatest privilege to represent the FA and lead England teams into high-profile tournaments.

"While we didn't finish in the way we wanted, I'm very proud to have been able to work so closely with players who I know will go on to have remarkable international careers and to have experienced some very special moments with them over the years.

"I'd like to thank my staff and all of the incredible support team that have done so much to help us remain competitive against other elite nations.

"In every single get-together they embraced our unique challenge of rightly prioritising the needs of the senior team while ensuring we gave our all to try and get a positive performance and result."

Croatia v England – 2021 UEFA European Under-21 Championship – Group D – Bonifika Stadium
England Under-21s were knocked out of Euro 2021 last month (Luka Stanzl/PA)

Boothroyd – who won the Toulon Tournament with England in 2018 – stepped up from Under-20s manager to the Under-21s to replace Southgate in 2016, when Southgate was appointed interim senior boss after Sam Allardyce's exit.

He took the job permanently in 2017 and guided the Young Lions to the semi-finals of the European Championship in Poland, losing to Germany on penalties in the semi-finals.

Two years later, in Italy and San Marino, England failed to get out of the group – losing to France and Romania and drawing with Croatia.

Last month the Young Lions were knocked out in the group stages of Euro 2021 in Hungary and Slovenia.

Croatia v England – FIFA World Cup 2018 – Semi Final – Luzhniki Stadium
England manager Gareth Southgate and Aidy Boothroyd worked closely together. (Owen Humphreys/PA)

Defeats to Switzerland and Portugal meant they needed to beat Croatia by two goals to reach the knock-out phase. They were leading 2-0 going into injury time only for Domagoj Bradaric's last-gasp goal to eliminate them. 

Speaking before the Croatia game, Boothroyd described managing the Under-21s as "the utterly impossible job", citing the competing demands of winning games and developing players to step up to the senior team.

Southgate said: "I'd like to thank Aidy for his wholehearted support and dedication to developing English players and coaches across the last seven years.

"His pride in working with all of our development teams has shone through and his support of the senior team has been greatly appreciated. I wish him every success on the next step of his career."

The FA will now start the search for Boothroyd's successor – with Frank Lampard, Justin Cochrane and Paul Simpson linked.

ID:443357: cacheID:443357:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:restore:7829:
Restore Data
Share this article now:
England Under-21s boss Aidy Boothroyd pictured in November 2019
Read Next:
Aidy Boothroyd: 'We must learn from early Euro 2021 exit'
>
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
6pm
Packers
@
Bears
6pm
Raiders
@
Dolphins
6pm
Colts
@
Jets
6pm
Jags
@
Lions
6pm
Rams
@
Patriots
6pm
Browns
@
Saints
6pm
Ravens
@
Steelers
6pm
Vikings
@
Titans
9.05pm
Seahawks
@
49ers
9.05pm
Falcons
@
Broncos
9.25pm
Chiefs
@
Bills
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Liverpool119112161528
2Manchester CityMan City117222213923
3Chelsea115422113819
4Arsenal115421812619
5Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest115421510519
6Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton115421915419
7Fulham115331613318
8Newcastle UnitedNewcastle115331311218
9Aston Villa115331717018
10Tottenham HotspurSpurs1151523131016
11Brentford115152222016
12Bournemouth114341515015
13Manchester UnitedMan Utd114341212015
14West Ham UnitedWest Ham113351319-612
15Leicester CityLeicester112451421-710
16Everton112451017-710
17Ipswich TownIpswich111551222-108
18Crystal Palace11146815-77
19Wolverhampton WanderersWolves111371627-116
20Southampton11119721-144


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!