The England Under-21 stars who could shine at Euro 2024: Harvey Elliott, Rico Lewis and... Folarin Balogun?!

It is fair to say that the first senior England squad, post-World Cup, was a rather underwhelming one.

Having selected only one uncapped player, the Brentford striker Ivan Toney, manager Gareth Southgate has opted to persist with those who briefly threatened glory in Qatar, only to fall in pretty familiar fashion at the quarter-final stage.

That means the likes of Jordan Henderson, Kyle Walker, Kieran Trippier and Harry Maguire, all aged 30 or above, will begin the Three Lions’ Euro 2024 qualifying campaign, with 29-year-old Harry Kane again charged with leading Southgate’s side.

Of course, there is rich potential in players such as Bukayo Saka, the star of Arsenal’s Premier League title charge, Phil Foden, Reece James, Declan Rice and Jude Bellingham, but perhaps just as interesting, from a long-term perspective at least, is the strength of England’s U21 squad during this latest international break.

Lee Carsley's side take on France – including the likes of Benoit Badiashile, Michael Olise and Pierre Kalulu – at Leicester's King Power Stadium on Saturday, before facing Croatia at Fulham's Craven Cottage on Tuesday.

Here, GOAL takes a look at some of the youngsters who will be looking to catch the eye, with a view to making the step up before the next European Championship...