England v Germany
U19 International Friendly
7.00pm, Tuesday 18 November 2008
Weston Community Homes Stadium, Colchester United FC
Ticket Hotline: 0845 437 9089
Tickets £3 in advance (£5 on gate) adults and £1 children and concessions
Group Booking form
Charter Standard Booking form
England U19s will round off the year with a high-profile friendly against Germany at Colchester United’s brand new Weston Community Homes Stadium on 18 November.
The fixture tees up another big 12 months for England’s youth set-up with the squad looking to impress ahead of next year’s FIFA U20 World Championship in Egypt and the U19 European Championship in Ukraine.
England U19s are no strangers to Colchester either having trained in the local area ahead of this summer’s Euro 2008 campaign in the Czech Republic and Head Coach, Brian Eastick, is looking forward to a return trip to Essex: "Colchester’s new stadium was still in the process of being built when we were last here, so it will be great to play there in front of a big crowd and against strong and famous opposition like Germany."
The League One side moved to their new £11m home in July after 71 years at Layer Road and Colchester United’s Chief Executive, Marie Partner, is hoping that the local community will be out in force for England’s visit in November.
"This is very much a community-spirited game and we hope that everyone in Colchester and the surrounding towns will look to come along and back our future England stars.
"We feel very honoured and excited about hosting such a prestigious fixture at the new stadium and feel that this is a fantastic new beginning for us."
Colchester United’s Medy Elito has featured in both the England U18 and U19 squads over the last year and Eastick sees the Germany fixture as a learning curve for his side, which has included the likes of Danny Welbeck from Manchester United plus Henri Lansbury, Jay Emmanuel-Thomas and Gavin Hoyte from Arsenal’s recent headline-making reserves.
The England U19s Head Coach, whose CV includes a spell at Newcastle United with Sir Bobby Robson, commented: "A lot of our squad are gaining first team experience with their clubs this season, which is fantastic for youth development in this country.
"We’ve got some big tournaments just around the corner but we’re always looking to add to those opportunities by giving our players the chance to play against top quality European opposition on a regular basis," explained Eastick, whose side saw off the Netherlands 2-1 in Shrewsbury at the start of September.
Once again, The FA are offering Charter Standard clubs 30 free tickets for the game at Colchester United, while group bookings of 15 or more means that you can watch the Young Lions in action for just 50p.
Ground admission costs just £3 for adults in advance (£5 on the day) and £1 for concessions.
Contact the Colchester United ticket office on 0845 437 9089 for details.