The England U18 squad return to action this Saturday, 14 November, for their second match of the international window. Having opened their camp with a 3-2 victory over the Netherlands, Will Antwi’s Young Lions now face Sweden at 11am GMT, once again at the Oliva Nova complex in the Valencia region of Spain. The second fixture gives England the opportunity to build on their winning start before rounding off their friendly camp against Switzerland on Monday.
The Young Lions looking to build on their winning start
Will Antwi’s side made the perfect start to their stay in Spain by edging past the Netherlands in an entertaining encounter. Having fallen behind in the second half, the Young Lions showed their character to fight back and secure a 3-2 victory, with Ryan Kavuma-McQueen, Jeremy Monga and Riley Ebho all finding the net.
Kavuma-McQueen opened the scoring in the 19th minute with a superb strike from outside the box, before Jeshurun Simeon levelled the scores just three minutes later. The Netherlands then took the lead from the penalty spot shortly after the restart, but England responded quickly. Jeremy Monga restored parity in the 68th minute before Riley Ebho put the Young Lions back in front ten minutes later, just seven minutes after coming on. England were forced to see out the closing stages with ten men after Max Little went off injured in the 85th minute, but they held on to secure all three points.
The victory means England head into their second fixture with added confidence. The win over the Netherlands also extends the positive momentum established during the Friendship Cup in October, when the Young Lions reached the final after three consecutive group-stage victories against Colombia (3-2), Egypt (2-1) and Korea Republic (2-1). Despite suffering a 2-0 defeat to Spain in the final, England had produced a highly encouraging campaign.
For this latest fixture, Antwi continues to have a squad that is largely similar to the group involved last month, with several key players from the Friendship Cup remaining part of the setup. Jashayde Greenwood, Ryan Kavuma-McQueen and Jeremy Monga remain important figures within this generation and all three featured in the victory over the Netherlands.
There were, however, several changes to the squad before the start of the international window. Six new faces were called up, including goalkeeper Joseph Cowan, who received his first-ever England youth call-up. Jacob Watson was also promoted after featuring for the U17s during the previous international window, while Jerome Abbey, Oliver Boast and Teddie Lamb also joined or returned to the U18 squad.
Several further changes were then made. Marli Salmon left the group to join the U19s and was replaced by Chelsea forward Riley Ebho, who returned to England duty for the first time since August 2024. Mathis Eboue, meanwhile, withdrew from the squad and was not replaced, leaving Antwi with 23 players available.
The England U18 starting XI to face Sweden:
- Roman Dowell (Newcastle United)
- Marlow Barrett (Manchester City)
- Calvin Diakite (Chelsea)
- Riley Ebho (Chelsea FC)
- Reon Smith (West Ham United)
- Hugo De Lisle (Leicester City)
- Erik Farkas (Liverpool)
- Tyrese Noubissie (RC Strasbourg)
- Ryan Kavuma-McQueen (Portsmouth, on loan from Chelsea)
- Kyran Thompson (Newcastle United)
- Oliver Boast (Tottenham Hotspur)
