Lions prepare for French Futsal test

Head Coach Pete Sturgess pulled the nation’s elite players together at Hereford’s Point4 Arena, the venue that will host March’s double header of internationals with Switzerland.

The friendlies will kick start a new year where England will be looking to build on a very impressive end to 2011 where they narrowly missed out on qualification for this month’s European Futsal Championships in Croatia.

Stuart Cook was recalled to the England camp after a series of impressive performances in the National Futsal League North for Manchester and he seemed delighted with his weekend's work.

“I’m feeling sore after a gruelling weekend but I’ve enjoyed it,” he said through his official twitter account, @cookie_12_.

“I’m not sure that there will be many changes to the squad for the trip to France. I just hope that I have done enough, though that is a lot to ask in my first camp back."

One player that will miss the trip across the channel is Loughborough star Jason Kilbride. The former Middlesbrough captain suffered an ankle injury in training and has been ruled out for a minimum of three weeks.

Kilbride aside, the squad came through the weekend without any further injury worries and Sturgess will be hoping that the short trip to France will prove a good exercise for his Young Lions.

France currently sit 44th in the world rankings, 46 places higher than their opponents but after impressive 2011 showings against Montenegro, Cyprus and Greece, England will be hoping that they can again put in an eye-catching performance and come home with two more positive results.

England’s first fixture in France will take place on Tuesday 24 January and the two nations will do battle again the following day.

The Squad

James Dalton
Nick Colley
Luke Ballinger
Guillermo Wallace
Neil Morgan
Robert Ursell
Ian Parkes
Ben Mortlock
Sam Murphy
Doug Reed
Will Rooke
Oliver O’Neill
Stuart Cook

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