Emma Coates and Lauren Smith have announced their respective Young Lionesses squads ahead of the February international break.
England U23s
Emma Coates has named a 25-player squad for the U23s upcoming international fixtures against Germany and France.
Forward Michelle Agyemang, who is currently on loan at Brighton, returns to the setup after spending the November/December camp with the U19s as they progressed to Round 2 of U19 European qualifying. There is also a spot for 18-year-old defender Katie Reid while goalkeepers Eleanor Heeps and Naomi Williams will join up with the squad as training players.
The Young Lionesses will face Germany on Thursday 20 February at the Poundland Bescot Stadium in Walsall (19:30 GMT kick off). It is the first time the two teams have met since 2010. They will then host France in Stevenage on Tuesday 25 February (19:30 GMT kick off).
“I’m really looking forward to getting the players and staff together again,” Coates commented. “We have two exciting fixtures to kick off the year, against two tough European opponents. It’s exciting that we’ll be playing in two different parts of the country, and the players will have two chances to play in front of a home crowd and connect with the fans.”
England U19s
Meanwhile, U19s Head Coach Lauren Smith has named a 24-player squad as her side travel to Spain to take part in the Albir Garden Tournament.
It is the first time that many of England’s U17 2024 World Cup stars have joined up with the squad. Laila Harbert, Lola Brown, Nelly Las, Rachel Maltby, Zara Shaw, Cecily Wellesly-Smith, Omotara Junaid, Erica Parkinson and Lauryn Thompson were all given extra time to recover from their exploits in the Dominican Republic in the autumn. They will now, with the rest of the squad, continue preparations for Round 2 of Euro 2025 qualification.
Smith’s side will face Spain on Thursday 20 February (11:00 GMT kick off), the USA on Sunday 23 February (15:00 GMT kick off) and the Netherlands on Wednesday 26 February (11:00 GMT kick off).
“This is an important camp to set us up for what we hope will be a big year ahead, as we aim to qualify for this summer’s EURO and next year’s World Cup,” Lauren Smith said. “We’ve lined up three exciting and challenging fixtures, each of which will present a different test. Having the opportunity to test ourselves against quality opponents, including the USA who we don’t have the chance to play against often, will be ideal preparation for our upcoming EURO qualifiers.”
