Young West Ham United duo Reece Oxford and Anthony Scully kick-off their UEFA European U17 Championship campaigns on Thursday.
England captain Oxford and Republic of Ireland midfielder Scully will square-off when their countries clash in Bulgaria on Wednesday 13 May.
That Group D fixture could be winners takes all, as the Young Lions and Boys in Green will each have faced Italy and Netherlands in their opening two group-stage matches.
Scully’s Ireland will be in action first, taking on the Dutch in Sozopol at 1pm on Thursday 7 May, before Oxford’s England tackle the Italians in Burgas at 7pm on the same day.
The second round of group games will see Ireland face Italy in Stara Zagora at 4pm on Sunday 10 May at 4pm, with England taking on Netherlands at the same venue at 8pm – the latter being a rematch of the 2014 final, which England won 4-1 on penalties.
England have won the tournament twice – the other success coming in 2010, with Hammers forward Rob Hall among the squad members. Ireland lifted the trophy in 1998, when West Ham youngster Shaun Byrne was part of the side.
Speaking after learning of England’s fate, the sixteen year old, who is expected to continue wearing the captain’s armband, said: “It’s a very tough draw, almost as hard as it gets but I’m still looking forward to the tournament. It’s a very proud moment when I captain my country.
“We know they will be hard games but we’ve got a good squad. If we play to our best I think we can do well.”
Scully added that he is looking forward to taking on his clubmate: "I'm excited to be playing in the tournament.
"We'll be playing against Reece Oxford and England so that'll be good. We've had a bit of banter in training about who's going to win, so we'll see next Wednesday!"
The tournament starts on Monday 6 May with the final scheduled for Friday 22 May. We will have updates on both countries’ progress through the tournament across our digital and social media platforms.