England U21s: FA defends selection policy for Euros
England made the right decision to omit some of their Premier League players in the European Under-21 Championship, says Football Association director of elite development Dan Ashworth.
Gareth Southgate's side went out in the group stage in the Czech Republic.
"We made the decision and I back it," Ashworth told the BBC's senior football reporter Ian Dennis.
"Youth teams are there to help develop players and give them experience to get into the seniors."
Liverpool forward Raheem Sterling, Everton midfielder Ross Barkley, Arsenal midfielders Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Jack Wilshere and Manchester United defender Phil Jones were among those eligible but not called up.
Ashworth added: "Those players are established internationals. It's like being a first-team player and asking them to come back and play in the U21s. It's not necessarily the right thing to do.
"The players who hadn't competed in the two-year cycle and lead-up to the European Championship wouldn't be considered.
"The debate will be reopened now but we stand by the decision Gareth and I made. You never know when you drop players into a new group whether it'll be the right thing to do."
England, who had Premier League quality in Tottenham striker Harry Kane, Everton defender John Stones and new Liverpool forward Danny Ings, lost 1-0 to Portugal, beat Sweden by the same score but then lost 3-1 to Italy.
Ashworth had a key role in the FA introducing proposals - the 'England DNA programme' - in December aimed at improving England's prospects at major tournaments.
The plan is to co-ordinate the style, formation and tactics from the under-15 side upwards. And he believes improvements can be seen already.
"I don't want to hide behind the fact we're devastated to have been eliminated in the group stages," Ashworth said. "We're disappointed with the group that we hoped and thought might go a bit further. But there are some success stories.
"In order to win things at senior level, we need to develop players who can deal with the ball in all areas of the pitch. We have to prioritise that in the development teams.
"They're young players and they'll make mistakes - it will cost us games. We have to accept that. We can't after six months say that's wrong, let's just crash it down the other end as quickly as we can.
"We're starting to see a different kind of player come through the system now. Three years into EPPP [Elite Player Performance Plan] we're seeing players more capable with the ball. I believe it will stand us in good stead in years to come. Is it too soon now to see that? Yes, perhaps."
'England can win 2022 World Cup'
FA chairman Greg Dyke set a target in 2013 for England to win the World Cup by 2022 and Ashworth believes that remains a realistic goal.
"Yes I do believe that," he said. "I genuinely believe we have a lot of good young players in the system. We have the pathways getting better at clubs and international level.
"We've introduced an U15s, 18s and 20s in the past 12 months because we recognise we need to give our players more big-game experience.
"You've seen at this tournament we need players able to make decisions at the top level in the big games in order to win tournaments. But that takes time - it doesn't happen overnight.
"We're all doing the right things but we need to sit tight and be a little patient and let it run its course. I'm convinced it will."
