Thomas Tuchel
Thomas Tuchel
Youth camps change in the first 48 hours. A goalkeeper picks up a knock. A forward does the same. The next names on the list are already at clubs that produce replacements.
That is how an international break that started with one Arsenal total becomes another. The senior squad is not the only one doing it.
Wednesday’s under-17 friendly was the first game of the window. The rest of the age groups kick off from Friday.
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England have called up Khari Ranson and Andre Harriman-Annous to the under-20 squad. They replace West Ham’s Finlay Herrick and West Brom’s Jimmy-Jay Morgan, both out injured.
Arsenal began the break with eight England youth call-ups. Marli Salmon then withdrew through injury, taking the number to seven. These two late additions take it back to nine.
Ranson and Harriman-Annous join the under-20s for Euro Elite League games against Italy on Friday morning, France on Tuesday and Germany on 3 October.
Harriman-Annous has already been around the first-team picture as a forward. Ranson is a goalkeeper coming through the same pathway.
Charlie Phillips started in goal for the under-17s on Wednesday as England beat the Republic of Ireland 5-1. He played the 90 minutes and conceded only a late curl that denied him a clean sheet.
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Mylo Bernard and Vincent Joseph are in that under-17 group as well but did not feature against Ireland. England named a 28-man squad, so rotation across the tournament games with Israel, Venezuela and Germany is expected.
The under-19s, the group Max Dowman is with, face Ireland at St George’s Park on Friday evening, then Norway, the United States and Belgium. The under-21s play Kazakhstan on Friday night and Slovakia and Ireland later in the window.
Nine Arsenal players across four England youth sides is a heavy week for Hale End. It also leaves the under-21s and under-18s short at home while the seniors are away.
None of the late under-20 call-ups changes the first-team picture for Leeds on 10 October. It does show how quickly the FA is filling gaps from the same academy that already sent Phillips, Bernard, Joseph and Dowman.
Friday morning is the first test for Ranson and Harriman-Annous. Italy at a neutral venue, 10.30am. The list that started at eight, dropped to seven, is nine again.