Algarve squad named

England will take on France, Norway and hosts Portugal in a mini-tournament which is part of the build-up to the European Under-17 Championship qualifiers that are scheduled to take place in March. 

Last season England finished second in the tournament and coach Peacock believes the squad he has selected is good enough to challenge the strong opposition his side will face.

"I'm happy with it - it's a strong squad with some really good players who I am looking forward to seeing in action in Portugal.

"Obviously it was difficult selecting the 18 names on the list as throughout this season I have been selecting new players for virtually every game, so I had plenty to choose from. I couldn't pick everyone but there is still a chance for those players who didn't make it.

"Portugal, France and Norway are all good sides and it will be a really good test for my boys to see how they do. It is our last get together before the qualifiers in March so it is very important for us to work on a few things."

England received a bye into the final stage of European Championship Qualifying and face three matches in five days against Serbia and Montenegro, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland for a place in the Italian-hosted finals.

For Peacock the Algarve Tournament provides a crucial chance to pick up valuable experience for those qualifiers and, with luck, the finals in Italy.

"What it does do is help us enormously with adjusting to tournament football," says Peacock.

"We all know that tournament football puts different pressures on players, especially young ones, so to be able to use this tournament to help us prepare for the qualifiers in March is very useful."

The squad includes three Tottenham players - goalkeeper David Button, Leigh Mills (above) and Chris Riley - and two from West Ham, striker Hogan Ephraim and James Tomkins.

"David [Button] is a year young for this squad so he has done very well to be selected," Peacock said. "I left him out of the Hungary squad with a view to see others in action. He is tall and very strong and a good shot stopper.

"Chris Riley is a new addition to the squad. I have been very impressed with him recently and felt he deserved a chance to show what he can do against high quality opposition.

"Leigh Mills has been a mainstay of this side and he has a lot of responsibility on his shoulders as one of the more experienced members of the squad. He captained the side in the Nordic Tournament at the start of the season and we all hope he continues his promising run of form."

West Ham's Ephraim (left) has scored a remarkable six goals in eight Under-17s appearances whilst Tomkins will be looking to get a bit of a run in the side after an injury-blighted season.

"I'm blessed with good forward players and Hogan is one of them," says Peacock. "He has got lots of potential and is someone we'll be hoping can get us a few goals in Portugal.

"James has had a few injury problems so far this season but this is another chance for him to impress. He is another player who is a year young so he has time on his side."

The Algarve Tournament starts on 25 January and will be covered extensively here on TheFA.com.

England Under-17 Squad - Algarve Tournament 2005