England under-17 head coach Steve Cooper accepts that the Young Lions have a tough group for the upcoming European Championships, but he is glad they have avoided the competition’s favourites in the group stage.
England will play the tournament opener against Israel at Chesterfield’s Proact Stadium on Friday May 4. Joining them in group A are Italy, who they will face off against in Walsall, and Switzerland, who they play at Rotherham United’s New York Stadium.
Burton Albion's Pirelli Stadium will host four group games and one of the quarter-finals.
Cooper, who won the World Cup last summer, spoke after the competition’s group stages were drawn at St George's Park, near Burton, on Thursday evening.
Also in attendance was tournament ambassador Wayne Rooney, with the Manchester United and England legend helping with the draw under the watchful eyes of England manager Gareth Southgate, who was also lending his support.
England managed to avoid Germany, Spain, the Netherlands and Serbia, who have made up group D; a group that has been assigned the 'group of deat'’ tag.
"We are very excited - it's a good draw," Cooper said. "Three tough games because they all qualified convincingly.
"Obviously group D has caught the imagination because of the teams that have gone in there but I think there’s four tough groups. At this level you don’t get any gimme games."
Before the draw, Rooney opened up about his experience at the 2002 under-17 Euro's - where he won the golden player award and burst onto the international scene.
Rooney is one of English football's most decorated players, winning five Premier League titles and a Champions League with United.
During his time with the Red Devils, Rooney eclipsed Bobby Charlton to become their all-time record goalscorer with 253 goals.
Rooney is also England's record scorer, with 53 goals in 119 appearances.
Currently with boyhood club Everton, the 32-year-old is approaching the twilight of a career that has taken in over 700 appearances for club and country.
"It was a fantastic tournament to be involved in. Just before the tournament I was due to play in the Everton first team for the first time so I was a bit annoyed I had to go away and didn't get to do that," Rooney said.
"But looking back it was a wonderful experience. It really got me started in tournament football. Unfortunately, we got beaten in the semi-finals but that tournament holds big memories for me.
"It's not always easy as a young man to be away from your family, you're away from your (club) team-mates, and you're out your comfort zone.
"To do that at that age is difficult. But it's a fantastic experience for these boys because you get used to playing against different teams from different cultures and different backgrounds. You don't always get that at that age."
The 32 year-old explained how the tournament can be a big stepping stone for the young players as they are looking to build their careers.
"For these players it's a platform to show their club managers they should be in their first team but also to go on from this tournament and build their careers.
"One or two players will emerge from this tournament who people watching will look back in 10 or 15 years and say 'I saw him at his first tournament'."
