Paul Fairclough has named a 16-man England ‘C’ squad that will take part in their international friendly against Nepal on Monday 6th May at Aldershot Town’s EBB Stadium.
The squad consists solely of players based in the south of England, though National League Play-off finalists Bromley and National League South play-off finalists Braintree Town and Worthing have not had any players called up, likely due to their respective games taking place on the same weekend.
Elliot Justham, Ollie Harfield and Callum Stead are the only players to remain from Fairclough’s squad that lost 1-0 to Wales ‘C’ in March.
The only other players in the squad to have previously received caps are Josh Rees and Johnny Goddard.
The full squad is as follows:
Goalkeepers: Nathan Ashmore (Boreham Wood), Elliot Justham (Dagenham & Redbridge).
Defenders: Danny Collinge (Barnet), Zico Asare (Maidenhead United), Ollie Harfield (Aldershot Town), Ollie Kensdale (Southend United), Jaydn Mundle-Smith (Wealdstone).
Midfielders: Jack Payne (Boreham Wood), Josh Rees (Dagenham & Redbridge), Sam Corne (Maidstone United), Toby Edser (Ebbsfleet United), Tyler Frost (Aldershot Town), Johnny Goddard (Slough Town).
Attackers: Jack Barnham (Aldershot Town), Nicke Kabamba (Barnet), Callum Stead (Barnet).
The fixture is part of a visit from the Nepalese FA to help raise the profile of football to the Nepalese community in England and increase participation from the South Asian community as part of the FA’s Asian Inclusion Strategy.
Writer’s View
The end of the season should be the best time for an England ‘C’ game to take place as players no longer have to worry about managing commitments to their clubs with their desire to represent their country.
In this case, it has not quite worked out perfectly due to the play-off finals in the National League system being on the same weekend. However, big-name players like Nicke Kabamba, Danny Collinge and Tyler Frost have been able to be included in the squad.
If next year’s fixture could be announced before the start of the new campaign, it may allow Paul Fairclough to pick the 16 best English players below the EFL.
