England U21 v Switzerland U21

Eddie Nketiah (l) has been named as the England Under-21 captain

England Under-21 striker Eddie Nketiah says he is looking forward to the chance to play football again after being named captain for the European Under-21 Championship.

The Young Lions play Switzerland in their opener on Thursday in Slovenia.

England Under-21s’ all-time top goalscorer Nketiah has not played a game for Arsenal since 30 January.

“It’s a good opportunity for me to get a smile and play football again,” he told BBC Radio 1 Newsbeat.

“I haven’t been playing a lot of football recently, nowhere near as much as I would have liked. It’s been a bit difficult and frustrating for myself.

“I’m grateful to have the opportunity here. It’s a good opportunity to come out here and show what I can do.”

Nketiah – who has only played 10 minutes in the Premier League since 19 December – is the England Under-21 top scorer with 16 goals in 14 games, surpassing the old record of Alan Shearer and Francis Jeffers (13).

“He is one of the leadership team, he is the record scorer which is huge when you consider he has beaten Alan Shearer,” England U21 boss Aidy Boothroyd said.

“He is very humble, hard working and before you talk about his football and intelligence he is a good guy who everyone likes and respects. He was the right choice [as captain].”

The Young Lions are in a group with the Swiss, Portugal and Croatia, with the top two from each group going into the knockout phase, which runs from 31 May to 6 June in Hungary and Slovenia.

“The tournament comes at a time which helps us, the players are in a rhythm,” Boothroyd said.

“When I go through the squad the majority are all playing which really helps me because they can hit he ground running.

“We have to get past the group stages but it will help us. We have to get through April and qualify first and get to the knockout stages.”

England U21 squad

Goalkeepers: Josef Bursik (Stoke City), Josh Griffiths (Cheltenham Town, on loan from West Bromwich Albion), Aaron Ramsdale (Sheffield United)

Defenders: Max Aarons (Norwich City), Ben Godfrey (Everton), Marc Guehi (Swansea City, on loan from Chelsea), Lloyd Kelly (AFC Bournemouth), Ryan Sessegnon (Hoffenheim, on loan from Tottenham Hotspur), Steven Sessegnon (Bristol City, on loan from Fulham), Japhet Tanganga (Tottenham Hotspur), Ben Wilmot (Watford)

Midfielders: Todd Cantwell (Norwich City), Tom Davies (Everton), Eberechi Eze (Crystal Palace), Conor Gallagher (West Bromwich Albion, on loan from Chelsea), Curtis Jones (Liverpool), Dwight McNeil (Burnley), Oliver Skipp (Norwich City, on loan from Tottenham Hotspur)

Attackers: Rhian Brewster (Sheffield United), Callum Hudson-Odoi (Chelsea), Noni Madueke (PSV Eindhoven), Eddie Nketiah (Arsenal), Emile Smith Rowe (Arsenal)

England fixtures

Switzerland – Thursday, 25 March (14:00 GMT) in Koper

Portugal – Sunday, 28 March (20:00 BST) in Ljubljana

Croatia – Wednesday, 31 March (17:00 BST) in Koper

Line-ups England U21

Formation 3-4-3

1Ramsdale

4Godfrey5Guehi3Kelly

2Aarons6Davies16Skipp21McNeil

10Hudson-Odoi9Nketiah18Smith Rowe

Substitutes

Switzerland U21

Formation 4-4-2

21Racioppi

23Lotomba4Bamert5Zesiger20Muheim

8Toma6Domgjoni22Jankewitz14Ndoye

9Guillemenot11Zeqiri

Substitutes

Referee: Giorgi Kruashvili Live Text