UEFA European U17 Championship
Elite Qualifying Round
28 March-1 April,
England, for more information click here

England Under-17s Head Coach John Peacock is urging football fans to come out in force and support his young lions as they strive to qualify for this summer's European Championship.

England kick-off their Elite Qualifying Tournament programme with an intriguing clash with Italy at Huddersfield on Tuesday before facing Bulgaria and Russia on Thursday and Saturday respectively.

Ticket sales have been good with 7,000 expected for the Italy match, but Peacock hopes fans will flood through the gates for all three matches, adding that a vocal home support will help England win the four-team tournament and qualify for the Luxembourg showpiece.

"It would be good if we get a big crowd," Peacock told TheFA.com. "It's good for the lads if there is an atmosphere at the game, it's good for their education. They don't get too many opportunities to play in front of thousands of people."

Not only will fans making the journey to Huddersfield's impressive Galpharm Stadium act as a 12th man, but they will get the chance to see the cream of England's young talent taking on their Italy counterparts in a game which could decide who wins the tournament.

"I expect a very difficult game, no doubt about it," explained Peacock. "We have played them before and it's always close. There is normally only one goal in it and I expect nothing different. We will have to be at our best."

After months and months of planning, Peacock now just wants to get down to business.

"The last six or seven months have been working towards selecting a squad for the tournament. We have done all the organising and planning. I am looking forward to it, I always do. It challenges me and the staff.

"We are fully prepared. There is one game in The FA Youth Cup on Thursday night. We have one player involved [Daniel Sturridge], we are hoping it's a good night both for him in terms of the competition but also so we can have the full squad of 18 players.

"I have not spoken to the players yet, but we will get everyone together for training on Friday. We will congratulate those players who have come into the squad for the first time, then go about creating a team atmosphere. Then we will focus on Italy."

UEFA U17 Championship - Qualifying Tournament

Tuesday 28 March 2006
Russia v Bulgaria at Worksop Town FC, 4.00pm - tickets on sale at the gate.
England v Italy at Huddersfield Town FC, 7.30pm - tickets on sale from 0870 44 44 552.

Thursday 30 March 2006
Italy v Russia at South Leeds Stadium, 4.00pm - tickets on sale at the gate.
England v Bulgaria at Barnsley FC - tickets on sale from 01226 211444.

Saturday 1 April 2006
Bulgaria v Italy at Stocksbridge Park Steel FC, 3.00pm - tickets on sale at the gate.
Russia v England at Scunthorpe United FC, 3.00pm - tickets on sale from 01724 848077, press option one.

Tickets

England matches - £3 adults in advance (£5 on the night) / £1 for U16s/OAPs; Group discounts are available by clicking on the links below.

Non-England matches - £3 for adults or £1 for U16s/OAPs on the gate.

For a group booking form for England's match with Italy, click here. Charter standard clubs or schools can download booking forms here.

For England v Bulgaria, group booking forms can be downloaded here, while charter standard clubs or schools should click here.

The same principle applies for England's match with Russia. Group forms can be found here, while charter standard clubs or schools should click here.