Belarus hour for 19s

England U19s' new international campaign will begin at the oldest football league club in the world when they meet Belarus at Notts County’s Meadow Lane on 11 September 11.

Senior stars such as Wayne Rooney, Stuart Downing and Jermaine Jenas have all featured for the U19s in the past and the Belarus friendly will give England’s youngsters 90 minutes in the spotlight and a chance to stake a claim for the Preliminary European Championship Qualifying squad which starts in October.

The game also gives head coach, Brian Eastick, an opportunity to experiment with his line up before the upcoming qualification campaign begins in earnest.

"I worked with this team last year as U18s and they had a great 4-1 win over Holland at Yeovil Town," said Eastick. "But player assessment is constantly ongoing and we’re always monitoring the lads to see who’s progressing nicely.

"Football at this level is all about development but we’ve got a good database of players and we’ll also take on board the recommendations of both clubs and scouts," he added.

England are drawn against Iceland, Romania and Belgium with the top two making it through to the final round of qualification and Eastick knows from past experience that his side will have to be at full strength to make an impression.

"Last season we lost key players to both injury and the Football League play-offs but we also came up against decent sides like Holland, Russia and the Czech Republic who possessed real quality.

"We know that reaching the finals of this competition isn’t easy and it’s going to be just as tough this season as well," warned Eastick.

Tickets can purchased by contacting the hotline on 0115 9557204 and are priced at £3 for adults in advance (£5 on the night) and £1 for concessions.

Group bookings of 15 or more people are priced at just 50p per ticket.

For details on discounts for FA Charter Standard clubs click here.