Ronaldo Vieira going to Toulon Tournament again

Guess which Leeds United star will be joining young defender Tom Pearce with an appearance for England at this year’s Toulon tournament?

If you said Ronaldo Vieira, last year’s penalty kick hero, you’d be correct.

Vieira has been called up to the England squad for the prestigious international U21 tournament held every summer in France. Vieira scored the winning penalty last year’s England team as they beat Côte d’Ivoire for the title.

This season, England will be in Group A along with Mexico, Qatar, and China. There are three groups in the tournament, with Group B containing France, Scotland, South Korea, and Togo, and Group C containing Canada, Japan, Portugal & Turkey.

The winners of each group, plus the second-placed team with the most points, move on to the semi-finals, and the winner of the single-legged semi-finals play a final match for the championship of the tournament. England has won the last two finals, so they will be looking to repeat that feat.

Per The FA’s official website, Aidy Boothroyd had this to say about the opportunity that the Toulon Tournament holds for the development of the England team:

The Toulon Tournament is one that we are all looking forward to and we’ll be playing some really good and tough global opposition.

As the tournament rules only allow players born in 1997 and younger, it means that we have the chance to look at some of our players from the U20s and see how they develop in this group.

Everything we do is focused on next summer’s Euros and qualification, so we will use our time in France to look at different systems and use players in different positions. It is also a great chance to replicate a major tournament environment and schedule.

Ultimately we want to win every game and will be looking for that from the squad on and off the pitch

The 20 man roster that was announced last Friday did not have Vieira on the list, but he’s been added to the roster. This is the roster that the FA listed on 18 May, but an updated roster containing Vieira should be released soon.

Goalkeepers: Aaron Ramsdale (AFC Bournemouth), Freddie Woodman (Newcastle United)

Defenders: Jake Clarke-Salter (Chelsea), Jay Dasilva (Chelsea), Dael Fry (Middlesbrough), Jonjoe Kenny (Everton), Ezri Konsa (Charlton Athletic), Tom Pearce (Leeds United), Fikayo Tomori (Chelsea), Kyle Walker-Peters (Tottenham Hotspur)

Midfielders: Harvey Barnes (Leicester City), Lewis Cook (AFC Bournemouth), Tom Davies (Everton), Kieran Dowell (Everton), Ovie Ejaria (Liverpool), Ainsley Maitland-Niles (Arsenal)

Forwards: Tammy Abraham (Chelsea), Adam Armstrong (Newcastle United), Edward Nketiah (Arsenal), Lukas Nmecha (Manchester City)

Check out the Toulon Tournament on Twitter for more information, including how to watch it from wherever you live.

Good luck to both Tom Pearce and Ronaldo Vieira.