The Pirelli Stadium hosts three England U17s matches this week; beginning with tomorrow's clash against Portugal and John Peacock admits he had a tough choice picking his England U17 squad for this month’s FA International Tournament.
The Head Coach has selected an 18-man group for the competition, which pits the Young Lions against Portugal, Turkey and Italy over the course of five days.
And after seeing this year group of players enjoy a successful season as U16s last time around, Peacock had plenty of choice for the games in Burton.
He said: “The selection process has been going on now for practically 15 months.
“It starts through the initial U16 development course, which culminates in a long squad of about 40 players being used during the international calendar of U16 fixtures.
“The players had a variety of competitions and different formats to give them a solid understanding of what international football is all about and how it differs from weekly club football.
“This pathway and exposure was certainly the case for this group of players.”
Peacock has been impressed by the 1997-born group of players after seeing England U16s win the Victory Shield, perform well against Germany in February and then reach the final of the Montaigu Tournament in France, .
And a squad of U17s also head to Norway for the Nordic Tournament next week under Peacock’s assistant Kenny Swain, with more players there having the opportunity to impress and feature this season.
Peacock added: “This group had some fantastic games last year, winning the Victory Shield, playing in a seven-goal thriller in Germany and losing narrowly in the final of the Montaigu Tournament on penalties against Turkey.
“The players selected for this tournament have all have come from the pool of players used by Kenny Swain last season, as well as players who had some U17 experience last season with me, in our quest to reach the UEFA U17 Finals.
“Working with them closely in this tournament will help me enormously in finding out more about each player and how they will fit into the group dynamic and eventual tactical shape of the team.
“And having top teams like Portugal, Italy and Turkey will provide us with a real challenge.”
The Squad
Goalkeepers: Freddie Woodman (Newcastle United), Ryan Huddart (Arsenal)
Defenders: Tosin Adarabioyo (Manchester City), Cameron Borthwick-Jackson (Manchester United), Joseph Gomez (Charlton Athletic), Jonjoe Kenny (Everton), Max Lowe (Derby County), Tafari Moore (Arsenal).
Midfielders: Isaac Christie-Davies (Chelsea), Lewis Cook (Leeds United), Dan Crowley (Arsenal), Ryan Ledson (Everton), Josh Onomah (Tottenham Hotspur).
Forwards: Adam Armstrong (Newcastle United), Isaiah Brown (Chelsea), Demetri Mitchell (Manchester United), Patrick Roberts (Fulham), Dominic Solanke (Chelsea).
Tickets are on sale for all three games at the Pirelli Stadium and are priced at just £1.50 adults and £1 concessions. Call 01283 565938 for more details.