Head coach Lauren Smith has named her 24-player England Women Under-20s squad for a trio of international fixtures.
The Young Lionesses will be meeting for the first of their preparation camps as they build towards the U20 FIFA Women’s World Cup taking place in Poland next September.
The group, which will be made up of WU20s and WU19s players, will travel to Spain where they will play three fixtures against global opposition at the Pinatar Arena in Murcia. Smith’s side first face China PR on Wednesday 26 November (16:00 GMT), before they take on the USA on Saturday 29 November (12:00 GMT). The final fixture of the year will be against Mexico on Tuesday 2 December (11:00 GMT).
England have already booked their place at next year’s U20 Women’s World Cup, earning qualification at the 2025 UEFA Women’s Under-19 EUROs, also held in Poland earlier this summer. With Poland gaining automatic entry as the hosts, England claimed one of Europe’s remaining five spots, joining France, Italy, Portugal and Spain.
Lauren Smith said: “These are three exciting fixtures as we build toward next year’s World Cup. We don’t often get the chance to face global opponents with contrasting styles of play, so this camp will be a valuable part of our preparation. There are so many talented players in our pathway and playing in a youth World Cup is so important for their development. We want to finish the year on a high and set the tone for what we hope will be a big year in 2026.”
England WU20 squad:
Goalkeepers: Eve Annets (Crystal Palace, on loan from Manchester City), Sophie Jackson (Tottenham Hotspur), Kaiya Jota (Stanford University), Sophia Poor (Nottingham Forest, on loan from London City Lionesses)
Defenders: Ria Bose (Sporting CP), Sophie Harwood (Arsenal), Nelly Las (Leicester City), Rachel Maltby (Aston Villa), Lucy Newell (Birmingham City, on loan from Manchester United), Jessica Pegram (Rangers, on loan from Brighton & Hove Albion), Chloe Sarwie (Chelsea), Cecily Wellesley-Smith (Leicester City, on loan from Arsenal)
Midfielders: May Cruft (Rangers), Laila Harbert (Portland Thorns, on loan from Arsenal), Eva Hendle (Chelsea), Chloe Hylton (Carolina Ascent), Vera Jones (Bristol City, on loan from Chelsea), Omotara Junaid (Florida State Seminoles)
Forwards: Princess Ademiluyi (Fort Lauderdale United, on loan from Gotham FC), Jessica Anderson (Manchester United), Ava Baker (Birmingham City), Jessie Gale (Portsmouth, on loan from Arsenal), Jane Oboavwoduo (Manchester City), Lois Shooter (Chelsea)