Gareth Southgate’s men face Norway at Colchester

Football fans in Essex and London have the chance to watch England under-21s in action at Colchester’s Weston Homes Community Stadium next month.

Gareth Southgate’s men resume their campaign to reach the European Championships finals in Poland when they face group nine rivals Norway on Tuesday, September 6 (5.45pm).

After three wins and two draws from their first five games, England will go into the final few fixtures on top of the group and know it’s in their own hands whether they seal an automatic qualification spot for the finals.

They will be looking for a repeat of the win they enjoyed over Norway last September when a penalty from captain James Ward-Prowse was enough to seal the points in Drammen in what was their first game of the new campaign.

England will take confidence into their final few qualifiers from their success this summer at the Toulon Tournament, where five wins out of five secured a first title in the competition since 1994.

It’s also a first return to the Essex venue for the under-21s since 2011, when they beat Iceland 5-0 thanks to goals from former U’s player Marvin Sordell, Martin Kelly, Craig Dawson and Gary Gardner (2).

Colchester head coach John McGreal said: “Given how successful it was for the club last time, it’s great to hear that we’ll be hosting another England under-21s game at the stadium.

“We were delighted to host the England players at our training ground ahead of the game and it was very useful for us to be able to see them in action there and in the match itself. I’m sure our young players will also learn a lot.”

Tickets cost £10 for adults and £5 for concessions, with a family ticket (two adults, two children) just £20.

Group bookings of 15 or more supporters can qualify for a reduced ticket at £5 for adults and £2.50 for concessions and FA Charter Standard Clubs can claim 15 free tickets and any additional tickets at the group booking price.

Forms for the special ticket deals for FA Charter Standard Clubs and for group bookings can be downloaded from essexfa.com.

They need to be returned by 5.30pm on Friday, August 26 and fans can interact on Twitter using the hashtag #YoungLions, while information on grassroots Essex football is shared @EssexCountyFA and by searching for ‘EssexFootball’ on Facebook.