England announce 21-member squad for FIFA U-17 World Cup

The England squad for next months FIFA U-17 football World Cup was announced by head coach Steve Cooper here on Tuesday.

A 21-man group will make the trip to India for the competition starting on October 6, where they will face Mexico, Chile and Iraq in the first round of Group F.

All matches will be played at the revamped Salt Lake Stadium in Kolkata which will also host the final on October 28.

Cooper was able to call upon most of the players who helped England to qualify for the World Cup, after reaching the final of the U-17 European Championship last season.

The squad enjoyed two warm-up games in September, drawing with Brazil in Shrewsbury before suffering a 1-2 defeat against South Africa in Leek.

Added to that group is Jadon Sancho, who missed the September get together whilst completing a switch from Manchester City to Borussia Dortmund.

There is also a first England call-up for Chelsea midfielder Conor Gallagher, who has impressed with his form at Stamford Bridge for their U18s.

The Young Lions enjoyed a strong campaign last time around, reaching the Euro Finals in Croatia with distinction before suffering their first defeat of the season after a penalty shootout in the final against Spain.

They will travel to India this week for a pre-World Cup training camp in Mumbai, where they will play a warm-up game against New Zealand on Sunday, October 1.

After that, they will transfer to their base for the group stages in Kolkata where they open their World Cup campaign against Chile on October 8.

Their second game will see them up against Mexico three days later before their final group game with Iraq on October 14.

Ironically, England's previous two U-17 World Cup expeditions were hosted by two of their group opponents, Chile and Mexico.

The Young Lions travelled to Chile for the 2015 edition of the competition, when Cooper was on the coaching staff as Neil Dewsnip's assistant. Unfortunately, after beating the host nation in a pre-tournament friendly in Santiago, a squad featuring the likes of Everton's Tom Davies and Liverpool's Trent Alexander-Arnold went out after the group stage.

Prior to that, England's 2011 campaign saw John Peacock's side reached the quarter-final in Mexico. That squad contained players such as Jordan Pickford, Nathaniel Chalobah, Nathan Redmond and Raheem Sterling.

The squad

Goalkeepers: Curtis Anderson (Manchester City), Josef Bursik (Stoke City), William Crelin (Fleetwood Town)

Defenders: Timothy Eyoma (Tottenham Hotspur), Joel Latibeaudiere (Manchester City), Marc Guehi (Chelsea), Jonathan Panzo (Chelsea), Lewis Gibson (Everton), Steven Sessegnon (Fulham), Morgan Gibbs White (Wolverhampton Wanderers), Tashan Oakley Boothe (Tottenham Hotspur)

Midfielders: Conor Gallagher (Chelsea), Angel Gomes (Manchester United), Nya Kirby (Crystal Palace), George McEachran (Chelsea)

Forwards: Jadon Sancho (Borussia Dortmund), Callum Hudson Odoi (Chelsea), Philip Foden (Manchester City), Emile Smith Rowe (Arsenal), Rhian Brewster (Liverpool), Danny Loader (Reading)

--IANS

dm/gau/bg