Internationals | Mane and Olagunju make England U18 bows

9th September 2024

Mateus Mane and Saheed Olagunju both made their England debuts at youth level over the past week.

The duo have been away with the under-18s for the first time as the Young Lions faced Portugal, Switzerland and France in the Lafarge International Tournament.

Mane and Olagunju were given a start each, while also featuring from the bench, as a 1-1 draw in the final game against France decided the winners of the competition, with the hosts prevailing on penalties which saw England finish as runners-up.

In the age group below, Wes Okoduwa and Luke Rawlings have featured for the under-17s in their international friendlies.

Okoduwa started and won a penalty in the 5-0 success over Mexico, while Rawlings came off the bench before starting a 0-0 draw with Israel. England under-17s play one final game against Germany on Tuesday morning.

Luke Rawlings and Wes Okoduwa representing 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 pic.twitter.com/J5EfxjBhOZ
— Wolves Academy (@WolvesAcademy) September 5, 2024

Newly signed Ethan Sutherland started the first of a triple header of games for Scotland under-19s, playing a role in a 2-0 victory over Azerbaijan. The result was followed by an entertaining 5-3 success versus the Faroe Islands, while the camp in Spain rounds off this evening against the Netherlands.

Elsewhere, goalkeeper Lewys Benjamin started for Wales under-19s in Monday’s 3-0 international friendly victory against Azerbaijan, two days on from a 2-2 draw with Turkmenistan.

Also appearing for the Dragons at youth level was Makenzie Bradbury who started two and featured in all three fixtures as Wales under-18s won one, drew one and lost one in the Jezek Cup.

Craig Knight’s side were out competing in Czechia and midfielder Bradbury was in the eleven for games against the hosts and Turkey, while he came on as a substitute in Cymru’s only victory – a 3-2 success over Slovakia.

Josh Gracey has been away in Norway with Northern Ireland’s under-19s and was an unused substitute against Norway, before the goalkeeper played the second half of the second game for Gareth McAuley’s side - a 2-0 defeat to Sweden.

Meanwhile, Justin Hubner wasn’t part of Indonesia’s squad as they drew 1-1 with Saudi Arabia, however they are still to face Australia in a World Cup qualification fixture on Tuesday.

Following a strong showing in last week’s 2-2 Bristol Street Motors Trophy draw at Port Vale, defender Fil Mabete has travelled to Brazzaville to be part of the DR Congo under-20 squad ahead of their camp and tournament.

The remaining fixtures are as follows for the Wolves Academy contingent on international duty:

Indonesia | Justin Hubner