England U19s begin the new season with games against Greece and Germany as Paul Simpson and his squad prepare for their new Euro Qualifying campaign.
The Young Lions will tackle their first qualifying round in November and head coach Simpson will see his group in action both home and away in September.
They’ll start at St. George’s Park on Thursday 5 September when Greece are the visitors to Burton, before the squad head to Germany for a second fixture on Monday 9 September.
Among Simpson’s 23-strong squad are two players involved with England for the first time, in the shape of Birmingham City keeper Zachary Jeacock and Derby County defender Lee Buchanan.
“I’m really looking forward to getting started this season, getting on the pitch and working with this group of players,” said Simpson.
“I know quite a few of them from my time as assistant coach with the U16s, so it’ll be good to work with them again.
“These games will see us face two really tough teams and a big opposition crowd away in Germany, which is a good test for the players to perform with that sort of atmosphere.
“This gives us the chance to work with the squad on how we want to play and what we expect of them when they come away with England at this age group.
“We’ll also be using these games as part of our preparation for our first round of U19 EURO qualifiers in November and hopefully progression to the Elite Round in March.
“We know it’ll be a tough challenge, as it is each year, and we want our players to get experience of major tournaments at all age groups.
“But our key focus for this season is developing our players. We’ve a really clear development pathway with England and what’s been so pleasing in recent years is how many players are playing in older age groups.
“When you look at how young our senior squad is it’s really encouraging and it’s what we’ve got to keep working towards.”
The squad
Goalkeepers: Luca Ashby-Hammond (Fulham), Marcus Dewhurst (Sheffield United), Zachary Jeacock (Birmingham City)
Defenders: Ajibola Alese (West Ham United), Vontae Daley-Campbell (Leicester City), Taylor Harwood-Bellis (Manchester City), Clinton Mola (Chelsea), Louie Sibley (Derby County), ^Luke Thomas (Leicester City), Rhys Williams (Liverpool on loan to Kidderminster Harriers)
Midfielders: Luis Binks (Tottenham Hotspur)*, Curtis Jones (Liverpool), Paris Maghoma (Tottenham Hotspur), Bali Mumba (Sunderland), Thomas Doyle (Manchester City), Jacob Ramsey (Aston Villa), Bukayo Saka (Arsenal)
Forwards: Daniel Adshead (Norwich City), Faustino Anjorin (Chelsea), Ryan Edmondson (Leeds United)**, Anthony Gordon (Everton), Tyreece John-Jules (Arsenal), Morgan Whittaker (Derby County)
* Replaces James Garner (Manchester United) who is withdrawn injured
** Replaces Folarin Balogun (Arsenal) who is withdrawn injured
^ Replaces Lee Buchanan (Derby County) who is withdrawn injured.
