Monday, March 30, 2015

Riverside to boast record England U-21 crowd for Germany visit


Gareth Southgate’s England Under-21 side are on course to be watched by a record friendly crowd against Germany at The Riverside tonight.


Just under 33,000 tickets had been sold on Sunday evening and with demand likely to be heavy, fans are advised to buy their seats in advance to avoid potential queues and disappointment in the event of a sell-out.


Derby County's iPro Stadium holds the current record for an Under-21 friendly at 33,000, so The Riverside will overtake that figure tonight.


Former Boro boss Southgate believes the high ticket sales are down to a number of factors.


He said: “I think it’s a combination of sensible ticket pricing, that the area is passionate about football and also we have some players who are pretty high profile and exciting to watch.


“I’m looking forward to the game,” he added, “it’s the next test for us as part of our preparation and there will be a super crowd in the stadium.


“I hope we can perform in the way that we have been and in the style that we know we can against another top team.”


England go into the Germany game in good spirits after beating Euro 2015 hosts the Czech Republic 1-0 in Prague on Friday night.


Under-21 coach Southgate says he’ll use all fit members of his squad over the course of the two friendlies so Ben Gibson can expect to play in front of his home crowd.


The Boro defender didn’t train ahead of the game in Prague and, as a consequence, didn’t feature in the matchday squad, but he has been declared fit to play at the Riverside.


Tickets for the game can be bought by logging onto www.mfc.co.uk , by phoning 0844 499 1234 or by visiting the Riverside Stadium box office, which will be open from 9.30am on matchday, with collection points open from 6pm.


Tickets cost £10 (adults) and £1 (over-65s, under 18s and students) with family packages available.



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