Max Dowman among Arsenal England youth call-ups for September break
The England u21s named their squad on Friday morning, with Arsenal loan duo Tommy Setford and Ethan Nwaneri both included.
Setford is spending the season with League One Stevenage, whilst Nwaneri is playing for Bundesliga outfit Borussia Dortmund, but they’ll reunite as teammates for a trio of u21 European Championship qualifiers under head coach Lee Carsley.
The England u21s will face Kazakhstan at home on Friday, September 25th, and Slovakia at home on Friday, October 2nd. The team will then travel away to the Republic of Ireland in Cork on Tuesday, October 6th, with all three games available to watch on the England app.
These are the decisive final qualifiers, with England leading their group by three points ahead of Slovakia as it stands. Top spot qualifies for the final tournament, whilst the runner-up will either qualify or go into the play-offs.
There was no u21 call-up for 16-year-old Max Dowman, but he was included in the England u19 squad announcement later in the day along with Arsenal teammate Ife Ibrahim.
England are often more hesitant about promoting players too soon, preferring to allow them to see out their tournament cycle as a group. The secondary benefit of that is that it helps to avoid having to drop players back down later.
Dowman has been impressive for the u19s so far, scoring two goals and assisting five in his 10 games, with five of those goal contributions coming in the five Euro qualifiers he’s played.
As for Ibrahim, this is his first appearance in the England u19s, a step up from his previous u18 call-ups.
The England u19s will face the Republic of Ireland, Norway, the USA, and Belgium over the break.
In the England u18 squad, Marli Salmon was called up for the first time, with the team to play in the UEFA Friendship Cup against Colombia, Egypt, and South Korea.
Finally, in the England u17s, Arsenal summer signing Mylo Bernard and Vincent Joseph have been named in the squad alongside new club teammate Charlie Phillips.
The u17s will play a friendly against the Republic of Ireland, followed by a three-match tournament against Israel, Venezuela, and Germany.