Jorja Fox, Poppy Pattinson and Katie Robinson have all been included in England Women's U23 side who return to action with a fixture in Norway on Friday 2 September.
Head coach Mo Marley will gather the Young Lionesses squad on 29 August for what will be this age-group’s first camp of the new season. Norway have a strong pedigree in development team football, underlined by their WU19s finishing runners up at the 2022 WU19 EURO last month.
The match will take place at the Melløs Stadion in Moss and Marley is energised by the prospect. She said: “I am looking forward to getting the squad together at the start of what will be another exciting season. These young players should all be encouraged by what the seniors achieved. They have the perfect example to follow of what is possible in an England shirt.
“They can also see that some players who were with us recently are now in the senior set-up and getting the chance to show what they are all about. Every minute of experience in international football is valuable and I am sure the players will be hungry to grab the opportunity.”
England were 4-1 winners against Norway in the group stage of this summer’s WU19 EURO in which several of those players have made the transition to U23s. The under-23 squad had a strong and challenging 2021/22 programme including a double header with France in February which ended a 1-1 draw following a 3-2 defeat, and, most recently, a 3-0 victory and 0-0 draw against the Netherlands in April.
England WU23 Squad
Goalkeepers: Fran Bentley (Bristol City), Khiara Keating (Manchester City), Emily Ramsey (Everton on loan from Manchester United)
Defenders: Asmita Ale (Tottenham Hotspur), Tara Bourne (Birmingham City on loan from Manchester United), Niamh Charles (Chelsea), Jorja Fox (Brighton & Hove Albion on loan from Chelsea), Taylor Hinds (Liverpool), Maya Le Tissier (Manchester United), Anna Patten (Aston Villa on loan from Arsenal), Poppy Pattinson (Brighton & Hove Albion), Kiera Skeels (Charlton Athletic)
Midfielders: Laura Blindkilde Brown (Aston Villa), Missy Bo Kearns (Liverpool), Ruby Grant (University of North Carolina), Shannon O’Brien (Leicester City), Molly Pike (Leicester City)
Forwards: Angela Addison (Charlton Athletic), Aggie Beever-Jones (Chelsea),
Grace Clinton (Manchester United), Freya Gregory (Aston Villa), Jess Naz (Tottenham Hotspur), Jessica Park (Everton on loan from Manchester City), Katie Robinson (Brighton & Hove Albion)