Trio In England U18 Squad

Everton Academy defender Eric Dier has earned a first call-up to the England U18 squad for a fixture against Slovakia in two weeks' time, joining clubmates Hallam Hope and John Lundstram in Noel Blake's 18-man party.

The squad travel to Slovakia on 16th November for the friendly fixture.

Dier, born to English parents, grew up in Portugal after his family moved there when he was young. He came through the ranks at Sporting Lisbon's academy but has spent the last two seasons on loan at Everton.

It is unclear whether Everton will be able to keep hold of Dier after the latest loan spell expires as Sporting are thought to value the player highly.

Thanks to his childhood having been spent abroad, Dier is eligible to play for Portugal, but has in the past stated his desire to play for England, for whom he participated in a promotional photoshoot back in 2008 (above).

Midfielder Lundstram and forward Hope both played at the U17 World Cup in the Summer just gone and both have retained their places in the squad for the Slovakia game.

The trio join Jake Bidwell, Ross Barkley and Jack Rodwell in being called up to various England youth sides in recent days. The future's bright, the future's blue.