England WU20s squad named for Portugal trip

Lydia Bedford has selected 24 players for the final preparation camp before naming the England squad for the FIFA U20 Women's World Cup.

The Young Lionesses will travel to Cidade do Futebol, Portugal's national football centre in Lisbon, where they will take on their hosts, who are also bound for the World Cup, on Thursday 13 August (4.30pm BST).

This is the fourth and final preparation camp England have undertaken over the summer as they gear up for a first appearance at the FIFA U20 Women’s World Cup since 2018. Bedford's side head into the fixture having defeated Canada and Colombia, drawn with the USA and narrowly lost to Japan across their previous camps.

The Portugal fixture represents the players' final opportunity to stake their claim for a place in the 21-player World Cup squad, which will be announced at 14:00 BST on Thursday 20 August.

England have been drawn in Group B for September's tournament in Poland alongside Brazil, Tanzania and Canada. They will begin their campaign against Canada on Saturday 5 September in Bielsko-Biała.

"We've had a really positive summer with some strong performances against top-quality opposition, and it's given us the chance to grow as a group both on and off the pitch," said Bedford, ahead of the camp.

"The players have embraced every challenge and I'm really pleased with the progress we've made, so we head into this final camp in a good place.

"Portugal will provide another tough test and, with the World Cup squad announcement just around the corner, it's an important opportunity for the players to show what they can do. Selecting the final 21 is going to be incredibly difficult because this group has worked so hard and pushed each other every step of the way."

The Squad

Goalkeepers: Eve Annets (Manchester City), Kaiya Jota (Stanford University), Sophia Poor (London City Lionesses)

Defenders: Ria Bose (West Ham), Sacha Lewis (Manchester City), Sophie Harwood (Arsenal), Rachel Maltby (Aston Villa), Grace McEwen (Brighton & Hove Albion), Lucy Newell (Manchester United), Chloe Paxton (Sunderland), Zara Shaw (Liverpool)

Midfielders: May Cruft (Rangers), Chloe Hylton (Carolina Ascent), Vera Jones (Chelsea), Erica Meg Parkinson (North Carolina Courage)

Forwards: Princess Ademiluyi (Gotham FC, on loan to Ipswich Town), Ava Baker (Birmingham City, on loan to Ipswich Town), Lily Dent (Brighton & Hove Albion, on loan to Sunderland), Layla Drury (Manchester United), Jessie Gale (Arsenal), Eva Hendle (Chelsea, on loan to Rangers), Vivienne Lia (Arsenal), Lois Shooter (Chelsea, on loan to Nottingham Forest), Lauryn Thompson (North Carolina Courage)