Ten members of West Ham United Academy’s U18s and U21s squads have been selected for international duty during the October international window.
While most of our young Hammers will feature in international friendly action, a handful of players will be competing in FIFA World Cup and UEFA U21 European Championship qualifiers.
Who has been called up?
Eighteen-year-old Gabriel Caliste joins up with the Mauritius national team for CAF World Cup qualifying action. The midfielder made his competitive debut during the last international window in September, starting in a 2-0 home defeat by table-toppers Cape Verde before playing 59 minutes of a 3-1 away loss to Angola.
This time around, Mauritius — fifth in their six-nation table and no longer able to qualify — will host second-place Cameroon at 2pm BST on Wednesday 8 October, and third-place Libya at 5pm BST on Monday 13 October, with both fixtures to be played in front of a sold-out Côte d’Or National Sports Complex in St Pierre.
The four Hammers who were called up across England’s youth ranks in September have all been selected to represent the Young Lions once more.
Last season’s Premier League 2 Player of the Season nominees Lewis Orford and Finlay Herrick both join the England U20s. Currently on loan at Stevenage in League One and Boreham Wood in the National League respectively, the pair were selected by Ben Futcher to face Switzerland at St George’s Park on Friday 10 October, with kick-off set for 1pm BST.
Orford’s U20s debut against Italy in September means he has now represented England at five different age groups (U15s, U16s, U18s, U19s and U20s). Herrick, meanwhile, withdrew from the last squad following his loan move to Boreham Wood but will hope to make his U20s debut this time around, having represented England from U16s to U19s.
Airidas Golambeckis earns his second call-up to England U19s. Our U21s captain previously represented his parents’ native Lithuania at U16s level before switching allegiance to England, where he made nine appearances for the U18s during the 2024/25 season.
Now part of the U19s setup, Golambeckis joins a talented group including young Premier League stars, Liverpool’s Rio Ngumoha, Arsenal’s Max Dowman and Fulham’s Josh King. The Young Lions travel to Spain for two international friendlies as preparation for their upcoming UEFA U19 Euro qualifiers, where they have been drawn alongside Lithuania, Latvia, and teammate Josh Landers’ Scotland.
Will Antwi’s men were unbeaten during their last Spanish camp in September, defeating Ukraine and the Netherlands and drawing with hosts Spain. Golambeckis featured in all three matches, starting the final two, and only Chelsea’s Shumaira Mheuka played more minutes than our 17-year-old defender.
For their October camp, England U19s will face Belgium on Saturday 11 October at 10am BST and Wales on Tuesday 14 October at 11am BST.
In the age group below, goalkeeper Lanre Awesu has been named in Neil Ryan’s England U18s squad for a double-header against France at St George’s Park.
The 17-year-old shot stopper made his international debut at U17s level last season, keeping a clean sheet in a 5-0 win over Mexico in Duisburg, a match in which West Ham teammate Andre Dike scored. Awesu stepped up to the U18s this season, featuring in a 5-1 victory over Morocco as the Young Lions won all three matches of their October camp.
Across both age groups, Awesu has earned five caps, keeping three clean sheets and conceding just three goals. England U18s will host France on Thursday 9 October at 6pm BST and Sunday 12 October at 2pm BST.
In competitive action for Northern Ireland U21s, defender Michael Forbes, currently on loan at Kevin Nolan's Northampton Town in League One, has again been called up for UEFA U21 European Championship qualifiers against Malta and Germany.
Forbes has made a strong start to his loan spell at Northampton, making ten appearances and scoring on debut. Since captaining Northern Ireland U21s during the last international break, he has helped the Cobblers to three consecutive clean sheets.
This month, Northern Ireland U21s host Malta on Thursday 9 October at7.45pm BST) and top seeds Germany on Tuesday 14 October at 5.30pm BST, with both games staged at The Oval in Belfast.
Top goalscorer for our U21s this season, Josh Landers has been selected for Scotland U19s for the third time following a prolific month in which he scored eight goals in just three starts for Club and country.
Neil MacFarlane’s side face Italy in a double header, with games at the Antonio Molinari Stadium and Stadio Mario Lancellotta on Friday 10 October at 3.30pm BST and Monday 13 October at 10am BST, respectively. The fixtures will serve as preparation for November’s UEFA U19 European Championship qualifiers, where Scotland will meet Golanbeckis’ England, Lithuania and Latvia.
From the U18s group, Callum Leacock and Joel Kerr have also been called up for international duty with Northern Ireland’s youth teams.
Leacock, who has captained West Ham United U18s this season, steps up to Northern Ireland U19s for the first time after making 16 appearances at U17 level. He and his teammates face the USA on Saturday 11 October at 2pm BST and Switzerland on Sunday 12 October at 5pm BST.
Compatriot Kerr joins Northern Ireland U17s for their training camp in Spain, where they will take on Portugal on Thursday 9 October at 2pm BST and the USA on Saturday 11 October, with the kick-off time to be confirmed.
Finally, from our first-year scholars, Martin Peychev, born in Hungary but representing Bulgaria, has been called up to the Bulgaria U19s for their second training camp of the season. The midfielder made his debut for the age group in September in a friendly win over Slovakia. This camp will serve as their final preparation ahead of UEFA U19 Euro qualification, where they will face Hungary, France and the Faroe Islands in November.
Fixtures in full
Wednesday 8 October
Gabriel Caliste | Mauritius v Cameroon – CAF World Cup Qualifier, Côte d’Or National Sports Complex, Saint Pierre, 2pm BST
Thursday 9 October
Lanre Awesu | England U18s v France – International Friendly, St George’s Park, Burton upon Trent, 6pm BST
Michael Forbes | Northern Ireland U21s v Malta – UEFA U21 European Championship Qualifier, The Oval, Belfast, 7.45pm BST
Joel Kerr | Northern Ireland U17s v Portugal – International Friendly, Pinatar Arena, Murcia, Spain, 2pm BST
Friday 10 October
Lewis Orford & Finlay Herrick | England U20s v Switzerland – International Friendly, St George’s Park, Burton upon Trent, 1pm BST
Josh Landers | Scotland U19s v Italy – International Friendly, Antonio Molinari Stadium, Italy, 3.30pm BST
Saturday 11 October
Airidas Golambeckis | England U19s v Belgium – International Friendly, Pinatar Arena, Murcia, Spain, 10am BST
Callum Leacock | Northern Ireland U19s v USA – International Friendly, Belfast, 2pm BST
Joel Kerr | Northern Ireland U17s v USA – International Friendly, Pinatar Arena, Murcia, Spain, time TBC
Sunday 12 October
Lanre Awesu | England U18s v France – International Friendly, St George’s Park, Burton upon Trent, 2pm BST
Callum Leacock | Northern Ireland U19s v Switzerland – International Friendly, Belfast, 5pm BST
Monday 13 October
Gabriel Caliste | Mauritius v Libya – CAF World Cup Qualifier, Côte d’Or National Sports Complex, Saint Pierre, 5pm BST
Josh Landers | Scotland U19s v Italy – International Friendly, Stadio Mario Lancellotta, Italy, 10am BST
Tuesday 14 October
Airidas Golambeckis | England U19s v Wales – International Friendly, Pinatar Arena, Murcia, Spain, 11am BST
Michael Forbes | Northern Ireland U21s v Germany – UEFA U21 European Championship Qualifier, The Oval, Belfast, 5.30pm BST
