• We have a job to do with 15,000 people against us, says Aidy Boothroyd • England expect to stick with the side who saw off Slovakia

Aidy Boothroyd has urged his England players to rise to the challenge of facing the tournament hosts, Poland, in their final group stage match at the European Under‑21 Championship as they bid to reach the semi-finals for the first time in four attempts.

Despite being heavily outnumbered in the stands during their games against Sweden and Slovakia, England go into the game on top of Group A with four points and knowing victory on Thursday would secure a last-four place.

Several first-choice players including the captain, James Ward‑Prowse, and the Chelsea striker Tammy Abraham, who is poised to join Swansea City on loan next season, sat out training on Wednesday but Boothroyd insisted that was merely a precautionary measure.

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“We were quite pleased with a point from our first game but it’s taken a bit of waking up to realise we had to win against Slovakia and we have to win this one, too,” he said. “We don’t want to put our future in anyone else’s hands.

“We’re here to go as far as we can and if we keep improving then why can’t we reach the semis and go beyond that? But first things first, what we definitely won’t do is get carried away and complacent.

“We’ve got a job to do against a really good team with 15,000 people behind them and against us. When we go out on the pitch we have to make sure that we deliver a performance that earns the respect of the crowd.”

England are expected to stick with the side who began the second half against Slovakia, when they battled back from a goal down to secure a 2-1 win. That means Norwich City’s Jacob Murphy could once more be deployed in an unfamiliar right-back role, with Nathan Redmond continuing to partner Abraham up front as they go in search of another win, with only the group winners certain to reach the semi-finals.

“You’ve always got to give respect to your opponent and maybe tweak a few things,” Boothroyd said. “Anybody at this level is tough and in our group anyone can still go through so we can get all kinds of results. We’re in the driving seat and we’ve got to make sure we do our job professionally and don’t get caught up in all the Polish passion.”

Spain became the first side to reach the semi-final on Tuesday after beating Portugal 3-1, meaning that England will avoid the tournament favourites if they can get past Poland. Boothroyd appeared relaxed as he discussed his side’s prospects of challenging for a first title at this level since 1984, even revealing that he had invested in a loud new pair of brogues ahead of the tournament in an attempt to lighten the mood among the squad.

“I knew there would be a little bit of stress and a little bit of pressure so I thought I would buy a pair of shoes that might be talking point and take some off the heat off them,” he said. “As soon as I put them on Nathan Redmond looked at them and said: ‘Strange shoes, boss.’ So they are a nice little distraction.

“It’s pressure you want. You don’t want to not have pressure in your life. You need a bit of pressure, it keeps you healthy. It’s good in many ways and is important because it helps keep everyone calm.”