The Young Lions will take on Turkey at Doncaster on 21 March, the first international at the Keepmoat Stadium.
England U19s v Turkey
International U19 Friendly
Wednesday 21 March 2007
Keepmoat Stadium, Doncaster Rovers FC
Ticket hotline - 01302 762576
England are heading to Doncaster Rovers for the first time giving Brian Eastick the final chance to prepare his players before they face the UEFA U19 Championship Qualifiers in May.
The final warm up for the Young Lions comes in the form of Turkey, who they will play at Doncaster Rovers' Keepmoat Stadium on Wednesday 21 March.
It will be the first meeting between the two sides at U19 level, and it will also be the first international match at Doncaster Rovers' new stadium which opened on New Year's Day this year.
Head Coach Brian Eastick told TheFA.com: "We're really looking forward to playing at Doncaster's Keepmoat Stadium, in what will be our final preparation match before before the European Championship Qualifiers in May.
"From my perspective Turkey could be the strongest opposition we have faced so far this season, perhaps along with Spain, and this is just the calibre of opponents that we will have to overcome if we are to qualify for Austria.
"It's a chance for us to look at the players one last time before the competitive games begin, so from that sense it is very important to us and we will be looking to get as much out of the game as we can.
"John Peacock and I watched the U17 World Championship last year and Turkey really caught our eye, they made it to the Semi-Final as I recall. That group will now form part of their U19 squad, and they have four or five excellent players.
"We have had great support of late, particular in the sell-out at Bournemouth, and hopefully the Doncaster public will come out in force to support us."
While the two countries have not previously met at U19 level, there have been several recent meetings at Youth and Senior level.
Chelsea's Michael Woods notched two impressive goals in August 2006 as England U17s were held to a 2-2 draw at Brentford's Griffin Park. It was the opening game of The FA International Tournament that England would go on to win with impressive wins over USA and Portugal.
The previous season Brian Eastick took England U18s to Mersin to face Turkey and despite a confident and composed display they were unfortunate to lose by a single goal.
Of tonight's squad, Hogan Ephraim, Mark Little, Giles Barnes and Fabrice Muamba all played their part in that game, while Michael Mancienne captained the side in the Tevfik Sirri Gur Stadium.
Of England's Youth meetings with Turkey undoubtedly the most significant came 14 years ago in the UEFA U18 European Championship Final.
Played at Nottingham Forest's City Ground in front of nearly 24,000 fans, Darren Caskey was the matchwinner on the day with a penalty.
Ted Powell was in charge on that day and in his line up were Sol Campbell, Gary Neville, Nicky Butt, Paul Scholes and Robbie Fowler.
Tickets are priced £3 adults (£5 on matchday), £1 children and OAPs.
Please note that tickets for the game will not be available for purchase until March 1.