Theo named in England Under-21 squad

March 20, 2009

The England under-21 team has friendlies lined up against Norway and France for later this month and have called up Arsenal midfielder Theo Walcott to the squad, even though he has only just returned from injury.

During the same time the senior team have a friendly against Slovakia and a World Cup qualifier against Ukraine so Theo could be called up for the senior squad if needed.

Aaron Lennon and Micah Richards are also included in Stuart Pearce’s squad.

“We wanted to take on a Scandinavian side as we’ve got Finland in the European Championships so Norway was a good option,” Pearce said.

“On top of that we wanted another ‘A-line’ nation that hadn’t reached the finals and they don’t come much better than France, so it’s a fantastic game for us.

“The two games will give us a full 10 days to work together. We can work on various things, both in the games and on the training pitch.

“It’s not often you get the chance to have that length of time with the players and it’ll be a vital period to prepare for the summer.”

England U21 squad:

Goalkeepers Joe Hart, Scott Loach, Joe Lewis

Defenders Kieran Gibbs, Michael Mancienne, Nedum Onuoha, Micah Richards, Andrew Taylor, Steven Taylor, David Wheater

Midfielders Lee Cattermole, Craig Gardner, Tom Huddlestone, Adam Johnson, Aaron Lennon, James Milner, Fabrice Muamba, Mark Noble, Jamie O’Hara, Jack Rodwell, Theo Walcott

Forwards Fraizer Campbell, Matt Derbyshire, Sylvan Ebanks-Blake, Daniel Welbeck

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