England’s Under-21s will kick off their 2008-09 season with a visit to the KC Stadium in August.
Stuart Pearce’s side, packed with star names from the Premier League, will take on Slovenia on Tuesday 19 August (kick-off 7.45pm) and tickets will be priced just £10 for adults and £5 concessions.
The match will be an important part of the build-up for a crucial European Championship qualifier against Portugal at Wembley Stadium on Friday 5 September. England currently top the qualifying group with six wins and a draw. This record looks set to ensure qualification for the Championship play-offs.
The highly-rated Portugal side need victory to stand any chance of overhauling England’s group lead and win a place alongside England in October’s play-offs.
U21 Coach Stuart Pearce said: “Since our last U21 game, six of our players have been in the senior squad. That shows that the dividing line is very small for these boys and Fabio Capello is happy to bring players in and have a look at them.
“We want to make the transition as smooth as possible and players will move up and down from the U21s as we look ahead to the play-offs with the goal of qualifying for next summer’s Championship in Sweden.”
Many of the six players recently involved with the seniors – Joe Hart, Theo Walcott, Gabby Agbonlahor, David Wheater, Tom Huddlestone and Joe Lewis – could be on show in Hull in a team featuring the country’s best young players.
Pearce added: “I’m looking forward to playing at Hull. I had a trial with the club when I was 17 and took Manchester City there for pre-season games.
“The city will be a vibrant place at the moment following their promotion to the Premier League and I’d be very surprised if we didn’t get a big crowd to see the U21s.”
TICKET DETAILS
Tickets are priced £10 adults and £5 concessions. Tickets go on sale on Monday 7 July from the KC Stadium Ticket Office in person or by phone. For details of group bookings visit www.TheFA.com
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