Gareth Southgate overlooked a clutch of eligible senior internationals for this summer's European Championship, yet England Under-21s captain Jack Butland says Raheem Sterling and Jack Wilshere will still have an impact in the Czech Republic.
Upon qualification for what is the Young Lions' fifth straight finals, attention quickly turned to selection and whether or not some of the bigger names should be included.
Sterling, Wilshere and Ross Barkley are all eligible this summer, so too Phil Jones and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, but Southgate stuck with those that helped the Under-21s secure qualification.
Such quality would obviously benefit the side but skipper Butland believes keeping faith with this squad will pay dividends, while those left behind can in fact inspire the group to glory.
"I think every player that we've got in this squad deserves to be here and has every right to be here," the Stoke goalkeeper said.
"The likes of Raheem and Jack have made the step up and are established senior players, who haven't been involved in this group.
"They're in the seniors now, which is the target for everyone here, so they act as motivation and a target for all of us.
"We want to get to and stay there and that's what this group believes.
"We believe in the pathway and if we perform in this tournament then there is a pathway and a route through.
"Everyone believes they can make the step-up, so those players have probably made a bigger impact on this squad than they realise - they're a target for all of us."
John Stones, Calum Chambers, Carl Jenkinson and Harry Kane have all made their senior debuts but have travelled to the Czech Republic, as has goalkeeper Butland.
Tipped as a future England number one, the main goal now is making amends for the disastrous showing two years ago.
Then, much like now, the Under-21s arrived at the finals brimming with confidence, yet they finished bottom of a group including Italy, Norway and the hosts Israel without so much as a point to their name.
Butland, along with current squad members Nathaniel Chalobah and Nathan Redmond, was part of Stuart Pearce's side for the tournament, but there is a belief things will go better this time around.
"It's great to lead the team and being the captain is a massive honour for me and my family," Butland said ahead of Thursday's Group B opener against Portugal.
"Hopefully I can bring some leadership and show the lads the way and it can be a successful tournament for us.
"We're here to win and achieve and it will be good if can do that. We believe in ourselves and the talent that we have.
"It's been two years of qualifying and two years that we've been together, so we haven't come here to lose.
"I believe in the lads and we all believe in each other, so we're really positive we can get a good outcome."
Source: PA
