England U19s travel to Bulgaria for the first round of Euro qualifying in November

England U19s travel to Bulgaria for the first round of Euro qualifying in November

England U19s begin the defence of their Euro title next week with a trip to Bulgaria for the first qualifying round.

The Young Lions will face opposition from Iceland, Faroe Islands and the host nation in Stara Zagora, with the top two nations in the group progressing to the Elite Round next March.

UEFA European U19 Championship First Qualifying Round

8-14 November 2017

Stara Zagora, Bulgaria

And head coach Paul Simpson has named his squad for the trip, which sees England kick-off the qualifiers against Faroe Islands on Wednesday 8 November at the Trace Arena.

They then face Iceland on Saturday 11 November before their third and final match against Bulgaria at the same venue on Tuesday 14 November.

Simpson’s squad has no lack of Euro experience either, with six players already having an U19 Euro title under their belt after featuring in last season’s finals in Georgia.

Reece James, Trevoh Chalobah, Mason Mount, Dujon Sterling, Ryan Sessegnon and Ben Brereton were all part of the group which won the title in July and are still young enough to feature in this season’s competition.

There’s also a first U19s call-up for Jadon Sancho, who was part of the U17 World Cup squad in India last month before he was recalled by Borussia Dortmund after their group stage games.

Last month saw Simpson’s side play two games on the continent in preparation for the trip, narrowly losing against Czech Republic and then sharing a 2-2 draw with Slovakia.

This season's Euro Finals will be held in Finland during July 2018.

The Squad

Goalkeepers

Ellery Balcombe - Brentford

Ryan Schofield - Huddersfield Town

Jake Turner - Bolton Wanderers

Defenders

Trevoh Chalobah - Chelsea

Morgan Feeney - Everton

Reece James – Chelsea

Ryan Sessegnon - Fulham

Dujon Sterling - Chelsea

Japhet Tanganga - Tottenham Hotspur

Josh Tymon - Stoke City

Midfielders

Dennis Adeniran - Everton

Flynn Downes - Ipswich Town

Elliot Embleton - Sunderland

Mason Mount - Vitesse Arnhem (loan from Chelsea)

Marcus Tavernier - Middlesbrough

Joe Willock - Arsenal

Forwards

Ben Brereton - Nottingham Forest

George Hirst - Sheffield Wednesday

Reiss Nelson - Arsenal

Edward Nketiah - Arsenal

Jadon Sancho - Borussia Dortmund