COLCHESTER United's new Weston Homes Community Stadium will host international football next month.

Carl Marston

COLCHESTER United's new Weston Homes Community Stadium will host international football next month.

England Under-19s will take on Germany in a friendly fixture on November 18 (kick-off 7pm).

U's chief executive Marie Partner enthused: “We feel very honoured and excited about hosting such a prestigious fixture at the new stadium, and feel that this is a fantastic new beginning for us.”

“We hope that everyone in Colchester and the surrounding towns will look to come along and back our future England stars.

U's winger Medy Elito has played for the England Under-18s and Under-19s over the last few months, so he will be hoping for a run-out on home turf.

The fixture tees up another big twelve months for England's youth setup, with the squad looking to impress ahead of next year's FIFA Under 20s World Championships in Egypt and the Under 19s European Championships in Ukraine.

England Under 19s are no strangers to Colchester, having trained at nearby Five Lakes ahead of this summer's 2008 Euro campaign in the Czech Republic.

Head Coach, Brian Eastick, is looking forward to a return trip to Essex.

He said: “Colchester's new stadium was still in the process of being built when we were last here so it will be great to play there in front of a big crowd and against strong and famous opposition like Germany.

“A lot of our squad are gaining first team experience with their clubs this season, which is fantastic for youth development in this Country.

“We've got some big tournaments just around the corner but we're always looking to add to those opportunities by giving our players the chance to play against top quality European opposition on a regular basis.”

Ipswich has already hosted an Under 19 international.

In February 2002 England Under 19s played against their German counterparts at Portman Road.

The side included Dean Ashton, Glen Johnson and Michael Chopra, currently players in the Premier League with West Ham, Portsmouth and Sunderland.

Darren Bent and Matt Bloomfield, who were both with Ipswich at the time, played in the game in which Bent scored twice as England won 3-1.