England MU19s begin their qualifying campaign for this season’s U19 EURO in November, when they head to North Macedonia for the first qualifying round.
Paul Simpson has selected a 21-strong squad for the trip to Skopje, where the Young Lions will face the host nation, as well as Luxembourg and Bosnia & Herzegovina on the first step towards next summer’s U19 EURO Finals in Northern Ireland.
They’ll tackle Luxembourg first on Wednesday 13 November at the Makedonija Gjorche Petrov Stadium in Skopje, before heading to the FFM Training Centre three days later to tackle North Macedonia.
The final game with Bosnia & Herzegovina is back at the Gjorche Petrov Stadium on Tuesday 19 November.
Only the top two nations in the group will progress to March’s Elite Round, which is the final stage to decide which seven teams will join Nothern Ireland at the Finals in July.
Simpson’s squad have been preparing with some tough games in September and October, and the squad is a familiar one with goalkeeper Carl Rushworth being the only new face.
“We’re looking forward to the challenge of these qualifiers and we’ve worked hard to prepare in the earlier camps this season,” said Simpson, ahead of the trip.
“We’re facing three tough teams, we’re expecting physical games and a low block which we’re going to have to beat. From watching matches so far this season, all three sides have good technical players so our squad will need to get their competition heads on for these games.
“Over the first two camps this season, we’ve had a look at a number of players and we’ve got a really strong squad for the qualifiers.
“We’re missing a few with injury but we’ve had selection headaches as we’ve got a limit of 20, rather than 23, so we’ve got some players that can play in more than one position, which brings us versatility and utility.
“Our aim is of course to get through to the Elite Round in March. However, whenever these players represent England they know they have to put in a performance to get positive results.”
The Squad
Goalkeepers: Luca Ashby-Hammond (Fulham), Marcus Dewhurst (Guiseley, loan from Sheffield United), Carl Rushworth (Worthing, loan from Brighton & Hove Albion)
Defenders: Ajibola Alese (Accrington Stanley, loan from West Ham), Lee Buchanan (Derby County), Taylor Harwood-Bellis (Manchester City), Ethan Laird (Manchester United), Valentino Livramento (Chelsea)***, , Clinton Mola (Chelsea), Luke Thomas (Leicester City)
Midfielders: , Faustino Anjorin (Chelsea), Thomas Doyle (Manchester City), James Garner (Manchester United), Sonny Hilton (Fulham), Paris Maghoma (Tottenham Hotspur)**, Bukayo Saka (Arsenal)
Forwards: Xavier Amaechi (Hamburg)*, Arvin Appiah (UD Almeria), Bobby Duncan (Fiorentina), Anthony Gordon (Everton), Tyreece John-Jules (Arsenal)
* Replaces Morgan Whittaker (Derby County)
** Replaces Jacob Ramsey (Aston Villa)
*** Replaces Henry Lawrence (Chelsea)
