Deepdale has been chosen as the venue for England U21s’ friendly against Iceland, on Monday 28 March.

It will be the second game of a double header for Stuart Pearce’s men who also take on Denmark in one of the four host cities for this summer’s European Finals which takes place in Iceland in June.

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North End Chairman Maurice Lindsay is delighted that Deepdale will be staging an international fixture: “Preston North End are absolutely delighted and honoured to have been awarded the opportunity to host this England U21 fixture.

“I am sure the public of Preston and the whole of Lancashire and the north west will respond and we look forward to it with great pride.”

England U21s manager Stuart Pearce is hoping for a great atmosphere at Deepdale for the friendly against a highly rated Icelandic side.

Pearce said: “We hope to see another full house at Preston on the night, and it’ll be a great chance for the fans to see some emerging talent.

“We’re always grateful of the support and, for the players, there’s nothing better than stepping out into a great atmosphere in front of a full house.”

The manager also spoke about the quality of opposition that the Three Lions will be facing and sees the friendlies as an opportunity to assess the standard of teams playing in the summer tournament.

Pearce went onto say: “After Italy in February this is another chance for us to assess the squad ahead of the final pick in the summer.

“We’ll use the games wisely and given the emerging talent we have across our development teams, there’s every chance we’ll take a look at some fresh faces, who themselves will have the opportunity to impress and maybe even stake a claim for a place in the final squad.

“The fact we’ll be playing two of the qualified nations for this summer’s Championship also means we get an early chance to assess the calibre of the opposition we might be facing.”

Tickets are now on sale and are priced at just £10 for adults and £5 for children. Fans will be able to pick up tickets from the ticket office or over the phone on 0844 856 1966. Alternatively, tickets can be purchased online at www.mypne.com.