Moore appointed England Under-20s Head Coach in national set-up reshuffle

However, only two of last season’s Head Coaches remain in the same role – Lee Carsley with the U21s and Matt Thorpe with the U15s.

Moore, 52, has been out of work since being sacked by Port Vale in December 2025, seven months after leading them to promotion from League Two. He also took Sheffield Wednesday up from League One in 2023. 

This is his first role in international football and he takes charge for U20 Elite League games against Italy and France this month.

“I have huge pride in being appointed as a Head Coach for England and the honour of representing the country,” Moore said. “International football presents a different challenge and an opportunity for me to continue developing and growing as a Head Coach.”

He said the aim was “an environment where talented young players can progress individually while building a strong collective”.

Moore’s assistant will be Liam Bramley, who was U17 Head Coach last season, with Sam Meek as Goalkeeping Coach.

Tim Dittmer, the FA’s Head of Coaching, who also continues as an assistant with the U21s, said: “We’ve spent a significant amount of time reflecting on recent seasons across our development teams and, as a result, have refined both what we deliver and how we deliver it.

“We’re confident that our new coaching structure, supported by a strengthened multi-disciplinary team, will provide our young players with the environment, support and challenge they need to perform, develop and progress throughout their respective campaigns.”

New arrivals

Among the new arrivals is Brentford’s Jon-Paul Pittman, who joins Neil Ryan’s U16 staff as Assistant Coach. The 39-year-old is one of four coaches new to the England set-up, alongside Moore, Troy Archibald-Henville (U18 Assistant), Graeme Carrick (U17 Assistant) and Yilmaz Aksoy (U15 Goalkeeping Coach).

Pittman was a forward for Wycombe, Crawley and Grimsby before being forced to retire in 2019 with a patellar tendon injury and moved into coaching at Exeter City’s Academy before becoming Professional Development Phase Coach at Forest Green Rovers and then Assistant Head Coach of the U18s at Brentford.

Since 2025 he has been the club’s Individual Development Coach, working on player-specific programmes across the Professional Development Phase.

Pittman will be presenting on Brentford Academy’s approach to individual development on Day Two of TGG Live at Old Trafford on September 30th.

Ryan led the U18s at the start of last season and the U20s by the spring.

Reshuffle

The rest of the structure has been substantially reworked. Ben Futcher, who began last season as U20 Head Coach before swapping roles with Ryan midway through the campaign, takes the U19s, with Paul Harsley and Tom Huddlestone as Assistants and Adrian Tucker as Goalkeeping Coach. 

Will Antwi, U19 Head Coach for the past two seasons, moves to the U18s, assisted by Chris Lock, Troy Archibald-Henville and goalkeeping coach Anthony White.

Barry Lewtas, the former Liverpool U21s Head Coach who joined the FA on an interim basis last summer to lead the U16s, has been given the U17s on a permanent footing for their UEFA U17 Euro qualifying campaign, which begins in November ahead of next May’s finals in Latvia. 

Graeme Carrick, brother of Manchester United Head Coach Michael, and Thorpe assist him, with Matt Doyle as Goalkeeping Coach.

Thorpe remains U15 Head Coach, with Yilmaz Aksoy, formerly First Team Goalkeeping Coach at Colchester United, as Goalkeeping Coach and a rotating group of Lewtas, Antwi, Futcher and Bramley assisting depending on the camp. Archibald-Henville, a former Exeter City defender, has been on the academy coaching staff at Tottenham since 2019.

At U21 level, Carsley has already added Conor Coady and Paul Williams to his staff following the departure of Ashley Cole after five years, with Williams moving up from the U15s.

Several members of last season’s staff do not appear in the new line-up, including Cole, Stuart Delaney, Darius Vassell, Matthew Hill and Graham Mills.

The U19s face a new format for the 2026-27 UEFA U19 Euros, having played the first qualifying round in March as U18s, and go into the second stage in November. The U18s have two autumn windows to prepare for the first qualifying round of the 2027-28 competition next spring.

Squads for the September camps will be named later this month.