England U19 Head Coach Noel Blake is happy with his 18-man squad selection ahead of the European Championship Finals.
This week sees the England U19 squad meet in Warwick as they begin preparations for the Finals in northern France.
Blake selected his squad for the competition last week and the 18 players will meet today to have three days of training before heading to Normandy on Thursday ahead of their Group A opener with Austria in Flers on Sunday 18th July.
“It’s a good group of players that we’ve got and it’s a group that we’re looking forward to working with,” said Blake.
“The lads we wanted, we have managed to get, so I’m pleased with the squad and we’re looking forward to it.”
ASE graduates Declan Rudd (Norwich City), Matt Phillips (Wycombe Wanderers) and Nathaniel Clyne (Crystal Palace) have been named in Blake’s final 18.
England progressed through two qualifying rounds over the course of last season to secure their place in the final eight, with Rudd, Phillips and Clyne having played a part.
They now get their chance to perform on a bigger stage, all three of England’s Group A games are being screened live on Eurosport, so it’s an opportunity that Blake feels they all deserve.
“It’s the next progression,” he added. “They’ve all been involved in qualifying, so they’re the ones that are going to the Finals. We will work with them over the next week and then see where that takes us.”
Further games will follow against Netherlands and hosts France, before the top two nations from each group will progress to the Semi-Final on Tuesday 27th July and then the winners of those games will contest the Final in Caen on Friday 30th July.
England’s 18-man squad in full:
- Declan Rudd (Norwich City)
- Lee Nicholls (Wigan Athletic)
- Nathan Baker (Aston Villa)
- Reece Brown (Manchester United)
- Steven Caulker (Tottenham Hotspur)
- Nathaniel Clyne (Crystal Palace)
- Tom Cruise (Arsenal)
- Matthew Briggs (Fulham)
- Josh Thompson (Celtic)
- John Bostock (Tottenham Hotspur)
- Matthew James (Manchester United)
- Jacob Mellis (Chelsea)
- Dean Parrett (Tottenham Hotspur)
- Andros Townsend (Tottenham Hotspur)
- Nathan Delfouneso (Aston Villa)
- Ryan Donaldson (Newcastle United)
- Matt Phillips (Wycombe Wanderers)
- Frank Nouble (West Ham United)
