Luke Freeman - International Career

International Career

Freeman made his debut for the England U16 side in the 2008 Montaigu Tournament in France, scoring on his debut in a 3–1 victory against Japan U16. He also featured in the following two group matches, a 1–0 victory against Germany U16, followed by a 1–0 defeat to USA, with Freeman coming on as a second-half substitute in both games. Having secured six points out of nine, England won their group, and subsequently beat France U16's in the final on penalties, with Freeman playing 78 minutes of the match.

After impressing during the Montaigu Tournament, Freeman was called up to the England U17 squad ahead of the 2008 Nordic Tournament, held in Sweden. He featured in all three games during the tournament, with England failing to qualify for the Final of the tournament as a result of Norway's superior goal scoring record. Freeman made a further appearance in the third-fourth place play-off, coming on as a second-half substitute in a 6–1 defeat against Denmark. He played in all three of England's 2009 UEFA U17 Championship qualification games in October 2008, scoring in a 7–0 win against Estonia U17. England narrowly qualified for the elite round, finishing in second place with five points. Ahead of the elite round fixtures, Freeman was called up to represent the U17 side in the 2009 Algarve Tournament, a three-day friendly tournament, which was played in February 2009. He started in all three games as England finished third in their group, and scored once in England's only victory, a 4–0 win over Israel's U17 side.

Freeman was named in England's squad to play in the elite round, the final qualification stage for the 2009 UEFA U17 Championship. All three of England's elite round matches were played in Hungary in March 2009, with Freeman scoring the only goal of the game in England's first group game on 25 March, a 1–0 victory against Portugal. He also scored again two days later as England U17's beat their Serbian counterparts 2–1 in Bük. He made a late substitute appearance in the final group match, a 2–0 victory against Hungary, meaning England had secured a place in the final tournament. Freeman was named in the 18-man squad for the tournament. He played in two of England's three games, with England finishing bottom of their group with one point.