Young Lionesses will be California Dreamin' in February

Wednesday 20 Jan 2016
John Griffiths will take his side to Los Angeles in February

England Women’s Under-17s will kick off their year by competing in a testing friendly tournament in USA.

John Griffiths will take his side to Los Angeles in February for matches against Japan, South Korea and the host nation.

This round-robin competition, known as the ‘U17 Women’s NTC Invitational’, will act as preparation for the Young Lionesses’ final round of Euro qualifiers in late March.

Los Angeles schedule

v USA, 2am GMT, Friday 12 February
v Japan, 11pm GMT, Saturday 13 February
v South Korea, 8pm GMT, Monday 15 February

They will travel to Serbia for games against the hosts, Belgium and Iceland.

Griffiths has named a 20-player squad for the trip to California with 16 of the group having taken part in the opening round of Euro qualifiers last October.

England will open up against USA on Friday 12 February (2am GMT), followed by Japan on Saturday 13 February (11pm GMT) and South Korea on Monday 15 February (8pm GMT).

Squad

Goalkeepers
Ellie Roebuck (Manchester City), Katie Startup (Gillingham)

Defenders
Flo Allen (Bristol Academy), Riva Casley (Oxford United), Taylor Hinds (Arsenal), Lois Joel (Chelsea), Anna Patten (Arsenal), Kelsey Pearson (Blackburn Rovers), Lotte Wubben-Moy (Arsenal)

Midfielders
Hannah Cain (Sheffield United), Laura Hooper (Arsenal), Hollie Olding (Brighton & Hove Albion), Alessia Russo (Chelsea), Grace Smith (Aston Villa), Ella Toone (Blackburn Rovers)

Forwards
Tinaya Alexander (Arsenal), Ellie Brazil (Birmingham City), Niamh Charles (Liverpool), Anna Filbey (Arsenal), Georgia Stanway (Manchester City).

By FA Staff