Loach and Cork go International

Scott Loach and Jack Cork have been called up to the England U21 side to face Ecuador next week in Spain.

This is the first time Watford’s shot stopper, Loach, has been called up for international duty. He replaces the injured Joe Lewis. Cork, on loan from Chelsea, has been on international duty numerous times; however this is only his second call-up to the U21 squad.

20 year old Loach, has made 21 appearances for the Golden Boys this season.  Cork, 19, has made four impressive appearances for Watford since joining from Chelsea.

The pair will link up with Stuart Pearce and the rest of the squad on Sunday evening before heading for La Rosaleda, home of La Liga side Malaga.

Both players will be looking to impress as there is only a few more games left before Pearce selects his squad for the European Championships this summer in Sweden.

The last time the U21s faced a team from outside Europe was back in 2001 when they defeated Mexico 3-0.

Speaking to www.thefa.com Pearce said, “We rarely get a chance to play teams from outside Europe at Under-21 level.”

“Ecuador have qualified for the last two World Cups and they will be bringing a team made up from their U23 squad and some senior internationals, so this will be a really good test for the players.

“We have four more games planned before the start of the Championship in June and each one will be crucial in preparing us to go to Sweden to try and win it.

“I will be taking the strongest possible squad to the Finals and there will be a lot of competition for places in the final 23.”