Three of West Ham United’s youngsters were in action for their respective national teams as the March international window kicked-off on Wednesday 19 March.
Lewis Orford (pictured, above) was introduced as a late substitute as England U19s made a winning start to their UEFA European U19 Championship Elite Round Group 7 qualifying campaign with a 2-0 triumph over Wales in Bangor.
Second-half goals from Walsall’s on-loan Manchester United striker Ethan Wheatley and Chelsea forward Shim Mheuka secured victory for Will Antwi’s side at the Nantporth Stadium.
Midfielder Orford replaced Chelsea midfielder Kiano Dyer late in added-time to help the Young Lions see out the game, while his Academy of Football colleague, goalkeeper Fin Herrick, remained on the substitutes’ bench.
The two Hammers will hope for playing time when England U19s take on Turkey in Connah’s Quay on Saturday 22 March at 11am GMT, and face Portugal at the same Deeside College Stadium on Tuesday 25 March at 7pm GMT.
Only the group winners will qualify for the final tournament, which will be hosted by Romania in June.
Chinaza Nwosu (pictured, above) started for England U17s as they began their UEFA European U17 Championship Round 2 Group A7 campaign with a 2-0 victory over Israel at St George’s Park.
The midfielder played for 52 minutes before being replaced by Leicester City’s Louis Page, by which time he had been booked for a foul just before half-time. Academy of Football goalkeeper Lanre Awesu was an unused substitute.
Lyon striker Alejandro Gomes scored both goals for the Young Lions at the National Football Centre in Derbyshire.
England U17s will hope to secure top spot and automatic qualification for both the Euro U17 finals in Albania in May and 2025 FIFA U17 World Cup in Qatar in November by defeating Slovenia on Saturday 22 March at 3pm GMT and Northern Ireland on Tuesday 25 March at 7pm GMT, with both ties being hosted at St George’s Park.
Josh Landers made his Scotland U19s debut in a 1-1 draw with Sweden on Wednesday.
The in-form striker, who has scored five goals in five U18 Premier League South appearances since joining from Hibernian in January, was a late call-up by Scotland U19 Head Coach Neil MacFarlane.
With the sides level at 1-1 at half-time, Landers was introduced as a substitute at the interval and made an impression with a lively display at the Pinatar Arena in Murcia, south-eastern Spain.
Indeed, Landers could have won the game for his country in the final minute, but his header went just wide of the far post.
The 18-year-old will hope to have another opportunity to impress when Scotland U19s take on Poland at the same venue on Saturday 22 March at 1pm GMT.
