England

v

Poland

 

 

International Under-21 Friendly
7pm, Tuesday 25 March 2008
Molineux, Wolverhampton Wanderers FC
Tickets, priced £10 adults and £5 concessions, will be available from the Wolves Ticket Office on 0871 880 8433 or via www.wolves.co.uk  
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England Under-21 Head Coach Stuart Pearce has named his squad for the friendly game with Poland, which takes place in Wolverhampton next week.

The team are currently preparing for their final game in the European Championship Qualifying Group, which takes place against Portugal in September and after a successful run of results so far this season, Pearce is keen to see a number of players in action ahead of that game.

There are first time call-ups for three players, who will be hoping to make a positive impression on Pearce and win their first caps at this level.

Manchester United’s Fraizer Campbell (pictured, left) has been on loan with Championship side Hull City this season where he has netted 11 goals in little over 20 appearances and that form has seen him receive his first call-up to the squad.

In defence, Coventry City duo Scott Dann and Daniel Fox are also named in the squad for the first time after impressing since their January switch to the Ricoh Arena from Walsall.

Elsewhere, powerful striker Ishmael Miller has impressed with his recent form for West Bromwich Albion, which included a hat-trick in the recent FA Cup Sixth Round win for the Baggies over Bristol Rovers. He is also a player well known to Pearce having worked with him during their time together at Manchester City but despite being in the squad before, he has yet to win his first cap.

Stoke’s Ryan Shawcross and Tottenham Hotspur’s Jamie O’Hara will also be looking to win their first caps after being called up for the last game with the Republic Of Ireland, but not featuring in the match.

Speaking about the squad announcement, Pearce said: "I've picked three players who have never been in the squad before, and there are also lads who have been very patient this season and deserve a chance to play some football and show me what they can do.

"It's a great opportunity for us in this friendly to have a look at some other players. I could easily put out a side that I wouldn't learn a great deal about, but I have a chance to use some new players and players who have been in the squad but have yet to have a great deal of pitch time.

"Having spoken to Brian Eastick, the U19s Coach, he mentioned Scott Dann and Daniel Fox (pictured, left), so I went down to watch them when they were at Walsall and again since they moved to Coventry.

"They have done very well on each occasion. There's also a real quality about their play so it'll be good to see them involved with us next week.

"The most important thing from my point of view is during the build-up to the Championships which we're aiming to reach next summer and that we have competition for places in the squad.

"All being well if we qualify, I want to be given a very difficult job of having to pick just 23 names from a pool of 35 or more players who have done well.

"That's my aim and games like this one against Poland are important in that process." 

The England Squad

Name

Club

DOB

Caps

Goals

Goalkeepers

Joe Hart

Manchester City

19.04.87

10

0

Tom Heaton

Manchester United

15.04.86

0

0

Defenders

Scott Dann

Coventry City

14.02.87

0

0

Daniel Fox

Coventry City

29.05.86

0

0

Craig Gardner

Aston Villa

25.11.86

5

0

Michael Mancienne

QPR (on loan)

08.01.88

2

0

Joe Mattock

Leicester City

15.05.90

3

0

Nedum Onuoha

Manchester City

12.11.86

13

1

Ryan Shawcross

Stoke City

04.10.87

0

0

Midfielders

Lee Cattermole

Middlesbrough

21.03.88

2

0

Adam Johnson

Middlesbrough

14.07.87

5

1

Michael Johnson

Manchester City

24.02.88

1

0

Grant Leadbitter

Sunderland

07.01.86

1

0

Jamie O'Hara

Tottenham Hotspur

25.09.86

0

0

Andrew Surman

Southampton

20.08.86

3

1

Forwards

Fraizer Campbell

Hull City (on loan)

13.09.87

0

0

Matt Derbyshire

Blackburn Rovers

14.04.86

10

4

Cameron Jerome

Birmingham City

14.08.86

9

0

Ishmael Miller

West Bromwich Albion

05.03.87

0

0

Luke Moore

WBA (on loan)

13.02.86

4

0



Statistics including England v Republic of Ireland, 5 February 2008