England(U21) vs Portugal U21 - Keane not reading into victory - 7M sport

England(U21) vs Portugal U21 - Keane not reading into victory



Posted Wednesday, June 17, 2015 by PA

England Under-21s' win against Portugal seven months ago means little to Michael Keane and his team-mates ahead of their European Championship opener.

Playing at his home ground of Turf Moor, the Burnley defender helped the Gareth Southgate's side to a 3-1 friendly victory in November.

Danny Ings' brace and a Carl Jenkinson effort secured a win which made amends for defeat in third-placed play-off at Toulon last summer and should set the Young Lions up nicely for Thursday's Group B opener.

However, Keane is not reading much into November's victory and expects the clash in Uherske Hradiste to be far from straightforward.

"Nothing is ever that simple in football, we wish it were," the defender said after training in Olomouc.

"Portugal are a great team with great players and we need to make sure we prepare right so we can play really well against them again.

"If we don't, there is a chance of them winning. It is going to be difficult.

"I think you can read a bit into it - the way they like to play, the way we like to play - but I think both sides will change a few players, so we won't read into the result too much but we will in terms of how they play."

Keane is also aware that such experience and knowledge could help Portugal, but is confident England will win if they play to their best.

Southgate's squad certainly have the ability and togetherness to succeed in the Czech Republic, along with a fair amount of Premier League experience.

Last season was Keane's first regular taste of top-flight football and, while Burnley ultimately suffered relegation, he can feel the benefits in his game.

"I learnt a lot moving to Burnley," said the defender, who lists Daniel Sturridge and Christian Benteke amongst his toughest opponents.

"Obviously it is my first real year playing a lot of games in the Premier League.

"I came up against a lot of top-class strikers and it has been a steep learning curve.

"There are some games I was happy with and some games I wasn't.

"They are probably the ones you learn the most from to be honest. It has been a good year development-wise."



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