The Young Lions, who defeated Switzerland 1-0 last Thursday before romping to a 6-1 victory against the same opposition on Saturday, will face their hosts at Arena Khimkir on Monday 8 June and Wednesday 10 June.
Although the England senior side picked up a 1-0 ‘away’ win in Tblisi, Georgia, against Russia in 1986, the Three Lions have not enjoyed victory on Russian soil since a Martin Chivers strike and an own goal secured Sir Alf Ramsey’s side a 2-1 win back in June 1973 – and that stat is one that excites head coach Dewsnip.
Russia v England
U18s International
Arena Khimkir, Moscow
8 and 10 June 2015
“We don’t want easy games – playing for England is not easy otherwise everybody would be doing it and obviously they are not,” Dewsnip told TheFA.com.
“It does need to be testing and I think Russia away will be particularly challenging. We will be going into an interesting and different culture.
“The England senior side has not won in Russia for over 40 years, so this country does not have the best record there but we will be trying to change that. That’s such an exciting challenge in itself.”
Dewsnip tries to ensure that each meet-up with his squad is a learning curve both on and off the field for his charges, and that has certainly been the case over the last week at St. George’s Park during their time together for the Swiss clashes.
“I think the whole experience was positive, not only with the football, but everything around it too.
“Having the England captain Wayne Rooney speak to the team, Roy Hodgson coming over to watch them train, Gary Neville conducting a team meeting for them. Then you have the RAF visit - the players have enjoyed some really good experiences right across the board.”
England Under-18s head coach Neil Dewsnip
Under his guidance, Dewsnip has seen his side rack up six wins and fire 21 goals in seven matches this season – and he insists it is an almost impossible job to select his best eleven.
“We are lucky at this age group that we don’t just have quality, we have a quantity of quality. I guess I am lucky that the way we design the programme with back-to-back games, you never put your so-called best 11 out on the field because you want to have a look at everybody.
“It would be a real challenge to even try and work out a best 11.
“But that’s a real positive that we have so many talented players within this age group.”
Dewsnip will name his squad for the trip to Russia towards the end of May.
