England MU21s squad named to play France and Portugal

The England men’s under-21s will ramp up their preparations for this summer’s UEFA U21 EURO Finals with international games against France and Portugal in March.

Head coach Lee Carsley has picked a 25-man squad for the double-header, which starts with a trip to Lorient to play France on Friday 21 March (8pm GMT).

They then return home to face Portugal at the Hawthorns, home of West Bromwich Albion, on Monday 24 March (7.45pm GMT) with tickets for that game on sale now.

Among the squad, there are first MU21 call-ups for goalkeeper Teddy Sharman-Lowe, Burnley defender CJ Egan-Riley, Sunderland full-back Dennis Cirkin and Arsenal forward Ethan Nwaneri.

The Squad

Goalkeepers: James Beadle (Sheffield Wednesday, on loan from Brighton and Hove Albion), Teddy Sharman-Lowe (Doncaster Rovers, on loan from Chelsea), Tommy Simkin (Walsall, on loan from Stoke City)

Defenders: Jarrad Branthwaite (Everton), Dennis Cirkin (Sunderland), Charlie Cresswell (FC Toulouse), CJ Egan-Riley (Burnley), Taylor Harwood-Bellis (Southampton), Rico Lewis (Manchester City)

Midfielders: Elliot Anderson (Nottingham Forest), Jobe Bellingham (Sunderland), Jamie Gittens (Borussia Dortmund), Archie Gray (Tottenham Hotspur), Hayden Hackney (Middlesbrough), Jack Hinshelwood (Brighton and Hove Albion), Alex Scott (AFC Bournemouth), Adam Wharton (Crystal Palace)

Forwards: Liam Delap (Ipswich Town), Harvey Elliott (Liverpool), Omari Hutchinson (Ipswich Town), Sam Iling-Junior (Middlesbrough, on loan from Aston Villa), James McAtee (Manchester City), Ethan Nwaneri (Arsenal), Jaden Philogene (Ipswich Town), Jay Stansfield (Birmingham City)