Stalemate in Slovenia
Tuesday, 15 February, 2011
Eleven debutants as Young Lions draw 0-0 in Koper.
The England U16 team played out a 0-0 draw with Slovenia in their traditional February friendly.
Although there were no goals, this match gave Head Coach Kenny Swain the opportunity to give eleven players their England debut. Norwich ‘keeper Angus Gunn, son of Bryan, kept a clean sheet on his maiden appearance, while Jack Jebb, Ryan Innis, Alastair Gordon, Kieran Wallace and Chuba Akpom were also handed their first international starts.
Tom Fry, Joe Rothwell, Luke Shaw, Darren McQueen and Josh Webb all came off the bench for their debuts. Diego Poyet, son of Brighton manager Gus, captained the side.
Due to the bad weather late in 2010 causing two Victory Shield fixtures to be re-scheduled, this was only the second match the U16s have played this season and they will finally complete their Victory Shield campaign in March. Next up is a trip to Northern Ireland on Wednesday 23 March.