England U18 return to action this Wednesday, 11 November, during the November international window with a first friendly against the Netherlands. Will Antwi’s Young Lions will take on the Dutch at 2pm GMT at the Oliva Nova complex in the Valencia region of Spain. The fixture will get a new run of three matches underway for England, who will then face Sweden on Saturday, 14 November before rounding off their camp against Switzerland on Monday, 16 November. Having reached the final of the Friendship Cup in October, England will be looking to continue their development with another positive result.
The Young Lions looking to build on their recent form
Will Antwi’s side head into this latest international window after an impressive month of October. Competing in the Friendship Cup in Switzerland, England enjoyed an almost perfect group-stage campaign, recording three wins from three matches. The Young Lions began with a 3-2 victory over Colombia, with Jashayde Greenwood scoring twice and Michael Mills also getting on the scoresheet, before edging past Egypt 2-1, with Mills finding the net once again.
England then made it three wins from three against Korea Republic, coming from behind to secure a 2-1 victory. Sam Alabi opened the scoring for the Young Lions before Ryan Kavuma-McQueen struck in the closing stages to seal the win. Nine points from nine saw England finish top of their group and book their place in the final. The final did not, however, end in another victory, with Antwi’s side suffering a 2-0 defeat to Spain.
November therefore provides Antwi and his squad with an opportunity to bounce back, with three new European opponents on the schedule. The England head coach has retained a large part of his October squad and can once again call upon several players who played key roles during the Friendship Cup. Jashayde Greenwood, Ryan Kavuma-McQueen and Jeremy Monga are among those retained and will have another opportunity to make their mark during the November window.
There have nevertheless been several changes to the squad since the initial selection was announced. Six new faces were originally called up, including goalkeeper Joseph Cowan, who is receiving his first England youth call-up. Manchester United defender Jacob Watson has also stepped up after featuring for the U17s during the previous international window. Jerome Abbey, Oliver Boast, Mathis Eboué and Teddie Lamb were also included after either returning to the England set-up or moving up to the U18 age group.
Two changes were subsequently made before the start of the camp. Marli Salmon left the U18 squad to join the U19s, where he was called up to replace the injured Malachi Hardy. The Arsenal defender was therefore replaced at U18 level by Chelsea forward Riley Ebho. Ebho returns to the England set-up for the first time since August 2024, when he was called up to the U16s. Meanwhile, Mathis Eboué withdrew from the squad and has not been replaced, leaving Antwi with 23 available players.
The Young Lions will now begin their Spanish camp against the Netherlands, with the aim of immediately returning to winning ways. Following Wednesday’s opener, England will face Sweden on Saturday at 11am, again at Oliva Nova, before concluding the camp against Switzerland on Monday at 3pm. The three fixtures will give Antwi another opportunity to continue his work with this generation while also providing valuable minutes to several members of the squad.
Against the Netherlands, England will be looking to reproduce the qualities that saw them impress during the group stage of the Friendship Cup, while also learning from their defeat to Spain in the final. A victory would give the Young Lions the ideal start to the November window and provide a confidence boost ahead of their two remaining fixtures.
The England U18 starting XI to face the Netherlands:
- Ben Vickery (Manchester City)
- Marlow Barrett (Manchester City)
- Calvin Diakite (Chelsea)
- Freddie Lawrie (Manchester City)
- Oscar Sandiford (Tottenham Hotspur)
- Samuel Alker (Leeds United)
- Hugo De Lisle (Leicester City)
- Tyrese Noubissie (RC Strasbourg)
- Ryan Kavuma-McQueen (Portsmouth, on loan from Chelsea)
- Jeremy Monga (Swansea City, on loan from Manchester City)
- Jashayde Greenwood (Chelsea)
