England’s youngsters have been training at St George’s Park before the tournament
England Under-19s will begin the defence of their European title in Finland this week.
After topping their qualifying group in Macedonia, they open their campaign against Turkey on Tuesday at the Seinajoki Stadium before facing Ukraine and France in Group B.
In Group A, hosts Finland were drawn with Portugal, Norway and Italy.
Head coach Paul Simpson has selected a 20-player squad with Manchester City’s Phil Foden left out.
“We’re going to Finland to try and win, but the main objective for this group of players is tournament experience,” said Simpson.
“We ideally want to achieve at least a semi-final spot as it will guarantee our place in next year’s U20s World Cup and this group is more than capable of that.
“It’s massive for a player’s development to experience tournament football at a young age. We’re giving this group of players that experience here, which they will hopefully take into next summer’s U20s World Cup, and then further into their careers.”
The Young Lions beat Portugal 2-1 to be crowned champions last year, while the Under-20s and Under-17s won their World Cups during a hugely successful year for England’s youth teams.
The Under-21s also made it to the semi-finals of the European Championships last year.
The competition takes place from 16-29 July, with the top two nations from each group progressing to the semi-finals.
Who is in England’s squad?
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Chelsea defensive pair Trevoh Chalobah and Dujon Sterling and Nottingham Forest striker Ben Brereton were all part of last year’s title-winning squad and are likely to be key figures again in Finland.
There are three first-time call-ups – midfielders Tom Bayliss of Coventry City, Kelland Watts of Newcastle United and Max Sanders of Brighton.
And there are returns for players such as Wolves striker Niall Ennis, Ipswich’s Ben Morris and West Brom defender Nathan Ferguson, who have previously been capped at younger age groups.
But England will have to fill the void left by Foden and Fulham star Ryan Sessegnon, who have not been included.
Eighteen-year-old Foden – who is involved in Manchester City’s pre-season tour – scored two goals in the Under-17s World Cup final and went on to make 10 appearances for City’s first team last season.
Sessegnon was the joint top goalscorer in last year’s tournament but has made a step up after being handed his Under-21 debut in March.
How have last year’s winners progressed?
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Sessegnon had a hugely successful season with Fulham, playing an integral part as they secured promotion to the Premier League. He was named the Championship Player of the Season, Young Player of the Season and Championship Apprentice of the Year at the EFL Awards.
The 17-year-old scored 15 goals in 46 league appearances and became the first player outside the top flight to be nominated for the PFA Young Player of the Year award.
Brereton signed a new deal to stay at Nottingham Forest until 2021 after making a name for himself in the first team squad and attracting attention from Premier League clubs.
Chelsea youngster Mason Mount signed a new contract before heading out on loan at Dutch side Vitesse Arnhem while team-mate Jay Dasilva made 38 appearances in League One during a successful loan spell at Charlton Athletic.
Chalobah, who is expected to captain the squad in Finland, has been a mainstay in Chelsea’s successful development squad.
And Foden became the youngest Englishman to start a Champions League match in December and signed a new contract with Manchester City.
Source: bbc.com
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