Speaking ahead of the England’s opening game against China (Saturday – 15:00), the head coach Aidy Boothroyd shared his thoughts on the Maurice Revello Tournament 2018. Let’s get into it.
His memories of the Toulon Tournament 2015
"Very-well organized tournament. Very nice weather, too hot at times for us. A really good tournament in terms of the quality of the teams as well. A good test for our group. I’ve got very fun memories of Toulon Tournament."
About the expectations surrounding the double title holders England
"We’ve had a very good last year and we want to make sure that we have a very good year every year. We keep trying to get better and better all the time. This year, we have a new team that came together very quickly. We have done very well so far so hopefully we can do as well as the last year."
On the integration of the new players
"That’s our job to get them integrated as fast as possible and get them know each other as people as well. They played against each other in the club teams, some of them played together. It won’t take too long. There are good guys with good characters. I’m sure, we will be a better team at the end of the tournament than we are at this time."
About meeting the expectations again
"We’re aiming to do that. We are here for. France have won the Tournament four times on the spin. We want to equal and then better the French record. We know that would be very difficult."
On the variety of the opponents
"When players from a development team reach the senior we want them to have every experience. We’ve played Mexico in their country, we’ve played China three years ago at the Toulon Tournament which was a brilliant experience. Playing teams with a global opposition and very strong European teams, that’s very good for our guys. Hopefully, when a senior player integrates the Southgate’s team, he has experienced everything at the young level. That makes him a better player."