Jordan Spence's year to remember will continue when he figures for England Under-18s on Tuesday in a home friendly against Ghana.
The 17-year-old centre-back has already represented England U19s, helping them last month to qualify for next year's elite qualifying round for the 2008 European Championship but has reverted to the younger age group for the 20 November fixture.
Spence, who captained his country to the U17 World Cup quarter-finals in late summer, will follow defensive partner James Tomkins and midfielder Junior Stanislas on Young Lions duty this month, with his team-mates playing in last week's 1-0 U19 friendly defeat in Germany. After his satisfaction over Stanislas and Tomkins, West Ham United academy director Tony Carr was delighted Spence had also been called.
"Jordan also deserves his call-up," Carr said. "He's been in excellent form, he was terrific alongside James in the reserve match [against Arsenal last week] and has already got some good international experience under his belt. This is another step in the right direction for him."
The Ghana game promises to be a tough test, with the African nation including 14 of the players that got to the semi-finals of the U17 World Cup, one step further than Spence's England. The match, to be played at Gillingham's Priestfield Stadium, kicks off at 7pm. Check out WHUTV for regular youth and reseve-team highlights and interviews.