CITY defender Ryan Bertrand has been named in the England Under-21 squad which will play Wales in the European U21 Championship play-offs later this month.

England U21 Head Coach Stuart Pearce told FA.com he has picked his strongest possible squad for the competition: "I think there are one or two of the players who would not be out of place in the senior side. Fabio Capello is aware how important these two games are for the Under-21s to get to the finals next year so he has tried to make sure I have the strongest possible squad to choose from.

"I would say there is probably only Theo Walcott omitted from the squad, who has done extremely well in the seniors and I expect he will be in the next squad that the manager picks. But on the whole we feel that playing in the Under-21s is more important than sitting on the bench in the senior side."

Details for the matches are as follows:

Wales v England
2009 UEFA European Under-21 Championship Play-Off First Leg
7.45pm, Friday 10 October 2008
Ninian Park, Cardiff City FC

England v Wales
2009 UEFA European Under-21 Championship Play-Off Second Leg
7.45pm, Tuesday 14 October 2008
Villa Park, Aston Villa FC