England manager Roy Hodgson is expected to name a young squad for the Euro 2016 and this represents a great opportunity for these players to establish themselves in the national team according to Sir Geoff Hurst. The likes of John Stones, Harry Kane, and Ross Barkley are some of the youngsters expected to feature in this major competition. They have been doing exceedingly well for their respective clubs. This has earned them occasional chances in the international team, but they remain starved of opportunities at a major tournament.

Spain have been able to win major trophies with a young squad largely because they have gained experience of playing in a tournament over several years. Sir Geoff Hurst says that a major part of the success for the national team during the 1966 World Cup was achieved because many young players had already evolved to play against the best in the world. The likes of Alan Ball and Martin Peters were just starting to make their name as a footballer on the international scene. They played a starring role in the World Cup that was won by England.Geoff Hurst says that the young players for 2016 should grasp the opportunity at the Euro 2016.

“We are starting to see, in my opinion, a greater number of young English players coming through with an opportunity to represent their country and be successful in Euros and World Cups to come.My advice, looking back to our time and the current players today, is that you have the opportunities but you’ve got to grab them yourself.If I look back to our time in ‘66, Alan Ball was 20 and was man-of-the-match, Martin Peters was 22 and had only played for England for two months and he scored a goal in the final which could have been the winner,” said Hurst.