COLCHESTER United will play host to Stuart Pearce’s England Under-21 side this November, as the venue for the vital Group 8 qualifier with Iceland in the UEFA 2013 European Championship.

COLCHESTER United will play host to Stuart Pearce’s England Under-21 side this November, as the venue for the vital Group 8 qualifier with Iceland in the UEFA 2013 European Championship.

England will play at the Weston Homes Community Stadium on Thursday, November 10 (kick-off 7.30pm) in what will be their fourth match of eight in the qualification period for the Finals in Israel.

It’s a quick return to Colchester for the Under-21s, who beat Lithuania 3-0 at the Essex venue in September 2010, courtesy of a brace of goals from Danny Welbeck and one from Marc Albrighton.

It’s also the second time within a year that England will have faced their Iceland Under-21 counterparts on home soil, having been beaten 2-1 by the Icelanders at Preston North End in March.

Pearce’s side will be fresh from an October trip to both Iceland and Norway, where they will face a dual away test, having already started their campaign in style with a 6-0 victory over Azerbaijan, which leaves the Young Lions top of the early qualification table.

Speaking ahead of the November visit, England boss Pearce said: “It’s great to be going back to Colchester, who were so welcoming when we last paid them a visit.

“It would even better to host the Icelandics in front of a capacity crowd at the Community Stadium.

“Last time we were there we were able to go and see troops based at the Colchester barracks and the people of the town gave us a great welcome and reception.

“Before that we’ve got some very difficult away ties, but if we can come away from those games with two good results then this game could become really important for us.

“By the time we finish this game we’ll be over half-way through our campaign and have a good idea about what we need to do to finish the job.

“Every year the crop of players we seem to get coming into the Under-21s gets more and more exciting, and you only need to see the anticipation of the likes of Tom Cleverley, Phil Jones, Jack Wilshere and Danny Welbeck going in to the senior ranks, to know that you’ll get to see another glimpse of the future this time around,” added Pearce.

Former Ipswich Town striker Connor Wickham, who moved to Sunderland over the summer for a fee of �8m, which could eventually rise to over �12m, is likely to be in the England Under-21s squad at Colchester.

Wickham has so far won five caps for the Under-21s.

Tickets for the fixture are available now, priced at just �10 for adults and �5 for children, by calling 0845 437 9089 or online at www.colutickets.com.