Kenny Swain has selected his squad for Shield opener against Northern Ireland.

England U16s Head Coach Kenny Swain has named his 18-man squad for this season's Sky Sports Victory Shield opener in Northern Ireland.

Swain’s young Lions will be looking to start the season with a good performance at Dungannon Swifts' Stangmore Park on Thursday 27 September with the game being shown live on Sky Sports.

Speaking about the game and his squad selection, Swain explained: “It’s an exciting time at the start of the season when a new batch of players get together to represent their country for the first time.

"Pulling on an England shirt is always a fantastic honour for any player, and it’s their time to enjoy the occasion and learn from the experience of playing international football.

"With Sky Sports showing the games live and all their families and friends in attendance, it will be interesting to see how they cope with a little extra pressure."

Liverpool’s Jordan Rossiter and Newcastle United’s Freddie Woodman are the only members of the squad to have featured for England previously, with sixteen new faces given the chance to shine for the Three Lions.

“Each year always varies on the type of player we seem to produce, some years we have a lot of gifted midfielders, other years we have some outstanding defenders and strikers. I see this year as no different and hopefully the balance of the squad will be excellent as in recent seasons."

England will be looking to retain the Shield they have won for the last eleven years, and Swain is looking forward to another interesting encounter with the Irish.

“Games against Northern Ireland are always competitive, they’re always set up well to compete against us.

"We don’t know what to expect from their squad but we know they will always be well prepared for the full 80 minutes."

The squad

Goalkeepers
Dean Henderson (Manchester United), Freddie Woodman (Newcastle United)

Defenders
Cameron Borthwick-Jackson (Manchester United), Tom Brewitt (Liverpool), JonJoe Kenny (Everton), Christian Maghoma (Tottenham Hotspur), Tafari Moore (Arsenal).

Midfielders
Luke Amos (Tottenham Hotspur), Callum Cooke (Middlesbrough), Kieran Dowell (Everton), Max Lowe (Derby County), Joshua Onomah (Tottenham Hotspur), Marcus Rashford (Manchester United), Patrick Roberts (Fulham), Jordan Rossiter (Liverpool)

Forwards
Adam Armstrong (Newcastle United), Isaiah Brown (West Bromwich Albion), Demetri Mitchell (Manchester United)