Game for the Hunt

Belgium v England
International Friendly
Zulte-Waregem (Regenboogstadion), Belgium
Wednesday 09 February 2005, 7.00pm

England Under-19 coach Martin Hunter has named his all-star 18-man squad to face Belgium at the Regenboogstadion on Wednesday 9 February.

It will be the Three Lions’ final friendly before the serious business of elite round qualifying for the UEFA European U19 Championship gets underway in March, and Martin Hunter will have been pleased by the side’s progress thus far.

Two wins and a draw from three friendlies, with one of the wins coming against powerhouses of international football France, have left Martin full of confidence, although he is anticipating a tough task in Belgium:

"I’m looking forward to the game," he told TheFA.com. "It’s always good to play against quality opposition."

"Belgium are in the elite round of qualifying for the European Championships, in group four, so they’ll provide a tough challenge for us and will be good preparation ahead of March’s qualifiers."

"We're looking to build on what we’ve done over the past three friendly games - we were rusty in the first game, played extremely well in the second game but drew, and against a very powerful French side in difficult conditions in Barnsley, got the goal, but more importantly kept a clean sheet. I’m asking for more of the same against Belgium."

With several players included in his squad having already graced the Premiership, the likes of Dexter Blackstock, Ryan Jarvis and James Morrison, Martin feels England will have a real chance if they can qualify for the European Championships.

"We have a very stable group of players now, and a decent number have first team experience.

"Lee Holmes on loan at Swindon for instance has a lot of experience, as does Tom Huddlestone who's become a real leader at Derby."

"Dexter Blackstock has scored in the top flight for Southampton, and scored against Belgium last time out, so I’m sure they won’t be looking forward to playing him again.

"Ryan Jarvis has had a few subsistute appearances in the Premiership recently too, and also scored that fantastic goal against Liverpool.

"Several of the big hitting nations are going to bow out at the elite qualifying round stage – only two from the Czech Republic, Germany, the Netherlands, Croatia, Spain, France and Portugal will qualify.

"I really feel if we can get there it will be an exciting opportunity for us in the summer."

England Under-19 squad v. Belgium, 9 February