England Women’s Under-19s will head north to contest the 2019 UEFA Women’s U19 Finals, which are being staged in Scotland.
The Young Lionesses reached the last eight of the competition after progressing through the elite qualifying round in April and will now face Germany [Tuesday 16 July, McDiarmid Park, Perth], holders Spain [Friday 19 July, Forthbank Stadium, Stirling] and Belgium [Monday 22 July, McDiarmid Park, Perth] in their group games.
And head coach Rehanne Skinner has selected a 20-player squad for the trip as England continue to strive for consistent tournament successes across the youth pathway.
England have been fine-tuning their preparations at St. George’s Park in the build-up to the tournament and name a squad comprising of an increasing number of emerging talent whose performances and involvement in the FA WSL and FA Women’s Championship was notable throughout the 2018-19 season.
Call-ups for Asmita Ale (Aston Villa), Kiera Skeels (Reading) and Molly Pike (Everton) reflect the progress made at their clubs and within the England WU18 programme this past season.
Additional strength comes via several members of the squad who gained valuable experience in last year’s U20 World Cup in France, the U19 Euro elite round and more recently, the SheBelieves Cup with Phil Neville’s senior squad.
The tournament comprises eight teams in two groups of four, with the top two progressing into the semi-finals, the winner of Group A plays the runner-up of Group B and vice versa. Progress into the knockout stages of the competition will act as UEFA's qualifier for the 2020 FIFA U20 Women's World Cup.
Skinner said: "Naming the squad has been a real privilege.
"There is a fantastic feeling of togetherness in the squad, they have been committed in their approach in the off season to be ready to represent their country and are keen to continue the example set by our senior Lionesses in their recent World Cup performances.
"Our aim at this age group is to provide experiences for players to ensure we best prepare them for the long-term goal of producing players to represent and win as senior internationals and this tournament is a perfect platform.
"Our expectations and ambitions are to play in as many youth tournaments as possible to support player development and experience on their journey to becoming senior players. With that in mind, our aim is to qualify for next year’s U20 FIFA Women’s World Cup to continue that process.
"We learned a lot throughout our qualifying campaign and have been working hard on and off the field in recent weeks at St. George’s Park.
"We face three very different opposition in the group stage, we are thoroughly prepared for that and looking forward to that challenge.
"The whole team and group of staff are excited to get started."
The squad
Goalkeepers: Hannah Hampton (Birmingham City), Emily Ramsey (Manchester United)
Defenders: Asmita Ale (Aston Villa), Niamh Cashin (Rider University), Georgia Eaton-Collins (University of Florida), Esme Morgan (Manchester City), Grace Neville (London City Lionesses), Kiera Skeels (Reading), Olivia Smith (University of Central Florida)
Midfielders: Lauren James (Manchester United), Aimee Palmer (Manchester United), Jessica Park (Manchester City), Molly Pike (Everton), Amy Rodgers (Liverpool), Emily Syme (Aston Villa)
Forwards: Lucy Fitzgerald (London City Lionesses), Lauren Hemp (Manchester City), Jessica Naz (Tottenham Hotspur), Ella Rutherford (Bristol City), Ebony Salmon (Unattached).
