England U19 play Turkey U19 in tournament opener on Tuesday, live on Sky Sports
Monday 16 July 2018 11:19, UK
England have named their squad for the European Under-19 Championship, as they look to retain their title in Finland.
Head coach Paul Simpson has selected a 20-player squad for the tournament, with his side facing Turkey in Seinajoki on Tuesday - live on Sky Sports - in the first of three group games.
Trevoh Chalobah, Dujon Sterling and Ben Brereton were all part of last year's title-winning squad, while midfielders Tom Bayliss, Kelland Watts, and Max Sanders are in an England squad for the first time.
Following Tuesday's opener, England will face Ukraine on Friday, July 20 and then France on Monday, July 23 - both live on Sky - in Vaasa, before the finals head into the knock-out stage.
Should England progress from their group as one of the top two and reach the semi-finals, they will also qualify for next year's FIFA U20 World Cup in Poland, a competition which Simpson knows well having won it with England in 2017.
"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 or better as it will guarantee our place in next year's U20s World Cup and this group is more than capable of that.
"We met up as a squad last Tuesday and had a really good week of training at St. George's Park. We have eight new faces we have introduced to the group and everyone has settled in well, worked hard and I'm really looking forward to seeing them play these games.
"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.
"It's a challenge of living together for a period of time, a game every two or three days, pressure of penalty shootouts - everything you can get in a senior Euros or World Cup.
"They all want to play for England. There is a huge buzz around England at the moment, especially because of what the senior team have done in Russia, and it's now up to us to go and continue that positive feeling."
ENGLAND:
Goalkeepers: Ellery Balcombe (Brentford), Jamie Cumming (Chelsea)
Defenders: Trevoh Chalobah (Ipswich Town, on loan from Chelsea), Nathan Ferguson (West Bromwich Albion), Ed Francis (Almere City, on loan from Manchester City), Tariq Lamptey (Chelsea), Dujon Sterling (Coventry City, on loan from Chelsea), Japhet Tanganga (Tottenham Hotspur)
Midfielders: Tom Bayliss (Coventry City), Elliot Embleton (Sunderland), Conor Gallagher (Chelsea), Nya Kirby (Crystal Palace), Adam Lewis (Liverpool), Max Sanders (Brighton & Hove Albion), Marcus Tavernier (Middlesbrough), Kelland Watts (Newcastle United)
Forwards: Ben Brereton (Nottingham Forest), Niall Ennis (Wolverhampton Wanderers), George Hirst (OH Leuven), Ben Morris (Ipswich Town)
Watch Turkey U19 v England U19 on Tuesday. Coverage begins on Sky Sports Football at 4:25pm.
