Mo Marley has named her first England U19s squad of 2017 as she prepares her side for a “huge year” ahead.
The Young Lionesses will welcome Norway to St. George’s Park later this month for a testing double-header at the national football centre.
The matches will take place on Thursday 19 January and Saturday 21 January.
The games will act as preparation for England's Euro qualifying campaign which begins in the spring.
Marley said: “This is a really great way to begin the year.
“We play Norway quite regularly and we know they bring exactly the sort of tough test we need to prepare us for a year of competitive matches.”
Seventeen of the 26-strong squad helped the U19s win a friendly tournament in Northern Ireland last October while eight players reached the quarter finals of the U17s World Cup in Jordan.
England travel to Turkey for their European Championship elite qualifying round matches.
They will take on the host nation (on 5 April), Denmark (7 April) and Czech Republic (10 April), with the group winners progressing to the Euro finals, which will take place in Northern Ireland in August.
The top three teams at the Euros will then qualify for the 2018 Women’s U20 World Cup in France.
Marley said: “It’s a World Cup qualification year so we need to do well in the Euros to have any chance of making that. It’s a huge year.
“The first part of the season is all about development and post-Christmas it’s the UEFA competition phase and a programme of matches.
“Getting minutes at international level is important for players of this age, especially when some of the girls might not get as much playing time with their clubs.
“We’ve got a lot of girls in this squad who were the first lot to come through our U18 programme. Last season they were playing U19s matches as youngsters but now they are coming into their own age band.
“And the players who were in Jordan can bring that experience to the group, so it will be exciting to see how they merge, grow and develop.”
The double-header against Norway is open to invited guests only.
Goalkeepers: Sandy MacIver (Clemson University), Ellie Roebuck (Manchester City), Sian Rogers (Arsenal).
Defenders: Megan Finnigan (Everton), Grace Fisk (Penn State University), Taylor Hinds (Arsenal), Sian Johnson (Birmingham City), Mayumi Pacheco (Doncaster Rovers Belles), Lucy Parker (Arsenal), Anna Patten (Arsenal), Sam Tierney (Doncaster Rovers Belles).
Midfielders: Georgia Allen (East Tennessee State University), Niamh Charles (Liverpool), Zoe Cross (Chelsea), Rianna Dean (Arsenal), Charlie Devlin (Arsenal), Chloe Peplow (Birmingham City), Ashleigh Plumptre (University of Southern California), Mollie Rouse (Aston Villa), Alessia Russo (Chelsea), Connie Scofield (Birmingham City), Georgia Stanway (Manchester City).
Forwards: Rinsola Babajide (Millwall Lionesses), Ellie Brazil (Birmingham City), Chloe Kelly (Arsenal), Charlie Wellings (Birmingham City).
