England u20 boss praises Arsenal 19yo despite defeat | OneFootball

Arsenal goalkeeper Tommy Setford was praised by England u20 boss Ben Futcher despite the team’s defeat to Switzerland this week.

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Arsenal 19-year-old Tommy Setford is a regular with the England youth teams, and he stepped up to make his debut appearance for the u20s against Switzerland this week.

Setford had been called up by the England u20s before, making the bench for a couple of games in June 2024. But he subsequently dropped back to the u19s to take part in the Euro u19 qualifiers and the final tournament this summer.

The goalkeeper almost returned to the England u20s in September, receiving a call-up before injury ruled him out of the break. So it would have been a relief to finally make his debut at the third time of asking this week.

Photo by Jan Kruger/Getty Images

Unfortunately, England lost the game 1-0, but u20 manager Ben Futcher praised the Arsenal youngster’s performance all the same.

“He had a fantastic game,” Futcher said. “When he had to make saves he did and his distribution is good.

“It is good to get him back into an England shirt and playing. He is a pleasure to work with.

“He will be being looked after by some excellent people at Arsenal. Hopefully he can go back to his club and keep developing.”

Photo by Jan Kruger/Getty Images

The Switzerland game was the only scheduled fixture for the England u20s over the October break, so Setford’s focus will now return to Arsenal.

The goalkeeper acts as Arsenal’s third-choice, often attending Premier League matches to help with the warm-up (despite not featuring on the bench), and featuring as a substitute in the expanded Champions League squads.

But Setford has also played for the u21s four times already this season, with the team next in action away to Chelsea on Saturday, October 25th at 14:00 BST.