Middlesbrough legend and former boss Gareth Southgate is set to return to the Riverside Stadium for an England Under-21 international.
The Teesside club has announced it will host an England U-21 friendly against Germany on Monday 30th March, 2015.
England U-21, managed by Southgate, are no strangers to the Riverside, having played several international fixtures at the stadium since its opening in 1995, and this meeting with fellow European Championship finalists Germany is an attractive proposition for Boro fans.
Southgate’s current squad includes home-grown Boro defender Ben Gibson and Chelsea loanee Patrick Bamford, who has been a big hit since arriving at the Riverside in the summer.
The March friendly will be England U-21s’ last match before the end of the domestic season and their first trip to the Riverside since February 2012 when Stuart Pearce’s side beat Belgium 4-0.
Both England and Germany are in action in the Euro finals in the Czech Republic next June, albeit in different groups.
Boro chairman Steve Gibson said: “Middlesbrough Football Club are proud to be hosting yet another England U-21 International.
“I am sure that the people of Teesside will come out in force to support Gareth Southgate and his players against a strong Germany team in advance of the European Championships next summer.
“Our club and Academy have maintained strong links with the England FA junior ranks and at the present time we have 18 players that have represented England at junior levels. These include Ben Gibson who has recently been selected for the U-21s squad under Gareth Southgate.
“We look forward to an exciting game and great atmosphere when Gareth brings his team to the Riverside in March next year?.”
Southgate added: “There is so much history to this fixture but we also know that at development level, Germany have really got so much right over the last few years.
“For us it’s a great benchmark and we’ve had some good games against Germany recently at other age groups so we want to keep challenging ourselves. We feel that playing top quality opposition will provide a vital learning experience.
“With Middlesbrough going as well as they are, there is a good feeling up there and I think they are going to be really strong contenders for promotion. Aitor [Karanka] is doing a really good job.
“He has been very supportive of what we are doing and really helpful with Ben [Gibson], Patrick [Bamford] and Jamal Blackman as well as boys at other age groups. Historically, Middlesbrough have been a great provider of young players for us, but that’s continuing now.”
Ticket details for England U-21 V Germany U-21 on March 30 2015 will be announced shortly.
The match will be shown live exclusively on BT Sport.
