Both players started the Final and helped the side to a 3-1 win over Israel in what is a fantastic achievement for the players and staff at the national team.
Reflecting on the achievement of the two boys, Neil said: “We’re really proud of what Matthew and Daniel have achieved. I think it’s an outstanding achievement to go and win the European Championships, and the way that they played throughout the tournament where they were really consistent and at a really high level. They played against a good side in Israel so they should be hugely proud of their efforts. It’s real vindication of the work that we do here to push the players to get to these levels and to have two players start for England is outstanding.
“It’s all about the players and that’s what we want, for them to get that level of exposure in that environment. All the work that gets done within the B Team, the way we push these players every single day, and feed them with that confidence to go at that level. Everyone is hugely proud of them and we look forward to bringing them back.”
Having had such success, Neil also hopes that can help the boys further in their career as they now set their sights on a return to West London to kick on in their development.
“Winning is a huge part of it, as they get to First Team level and beyond,” said Neil. “We base it as performance first and how we approach the games and the way we go about our business, but we always play to win and that’s what they did in Slovakia.”
Discussing the B Team and their 2022/23 season preparations, Neil says those players who have already returned to Jersey Road have done so in good shape as they continue to go through their pre-season schedule. With the first match against Salisbury next weekend, the B Team Head Coach says the side will continue to evolve over the summer.
He continued: “It’s been a brilliant first week for the young group of players. It’s a changed group and one which will be added to in the coming weeks. The lads who we have retained have come back to us in fantastic condition so we’re really happy with that. We also have a number of lads in on trial that are trying to make an impression and trying to cement their stay longer here.
“The group will calm down and over the coming weeks we will have a really settled group to push on for what will, hopefully, be another good season.”