England U19s boss Paul Simpson has named his squad for this month’s Elite Round qualifiers in Macedonia.
The Young Lions face opposition from Hungary (1pm, 21 March), Latvia (1pm, 24 March) and Macedonia (1pm, 27 March) in Skopje as they bid to seal a place in the Euro Finals in Finland this summer.
After winning the U19 Euro Championship last July, Simpson’s squad know they need to top their mini-group to progress, if they are going to defend England’s title this year.
With six of the team who won last year’s title in the squad again this term, there’s no shortage of experience in the group and there’s a number of new faces in the group too.
Manchester City forward Phil Foden receives his first U19 call-up, after excelling in the U17s’ World Cup success last October.
There’s also spots for Liverpool midfielder Adam Lewis and Chelsea goalkeeper Jamie Cumming, who’ve both been capped at U16 and U17 level previously, and Stevenage defender Ben Wilmot who is called into an England squad for the first time.
The Young Lions progressed to the Elite Round in November, after picking up victories over Faroe Islands, Iceland and hosts Bulgaria in the first qualifying round in November.
Simpson and his squad will meet up on Sunday before travelling to Skopje for the games.
The Squad
Goalkeepers
Ellery Balcombe – Brentford
Jamie Cumming - Chelsea
Defenders
Trevoh Chalobah Chelsea
Edward Francis - Manchester City
Reece James - Chelsea
Dujon Sterling - Chelsea
Japhet Tanganga - Tottenham Hotspur
Ben Wilmot - Stevenage
Midfielders
Flynn Downes - Luton Town (loan from Ipswich Town)
Elliot Embleton - Sunderland
Adam Lewis - Liverpool
Marcus McGuane - Barcelona*
Mason Mount - Vitesse Arnhem (loan from Chelsea)
Tristan Nydam – Ipswich Town
Joe Willock - Arsenal
Forwards
Ben Brereton - Nottingham Forest
Phil Foden - Manchester City
George Hirst - Sheffield Wednesday
Reiss Nelson - Arsenal
Edward Nketiah - Arsenal
Jadon Sancho - Borussia Dortmund
* Replaces Tristan Nydam (Ipswich Town)
Keep up to date with all the latest news on the Young Lions here.
