England U18

The first opponent was Scotland. On 25 October 1947, at Belle Vue in Doncaster, England won 4–2 in the Amateur Youth Championship for the British Association. Every player was an amateur, and 14-year-old Grenville Jones became the youngest England youth international to that point. A year later the side won the FIFA International Youth Tournament, the forerunner of today's European competition.

England won the UEFA International Youth Tournament in 1963 and 1964, then three years running from 1971 to 1973, and again in 1975. They were also runners-up in 1958, 1965 and 1967. The tournament became the UEFA European Under-18 Championship, and England won it twice: in 1980, beating Poland 2–1 in East Germany, and in 1993, beating Turkey 1–0 on home soil.

Eligibility rules changed in 1997, and the competition was rebranded as the UEFA European Under-19 Championship in 2001. Since then the under-18 side has mostly played friendlies, against the Netherlands, Germany and Spain among others. Those games are staged wherever they can be arranged. One venue is the Pinatar Arena in Spain. The other regular base is St George's Park in Burton upon Trent, where the Sir Bobby Charlton Pitch holds 2,000 seats.

The age group has since passed through Wayne Rooney, Theo Walcott, Anthony Gordon and Jude Bellingham, whose brother Jobe has also worn the shirt. Will Antwi is head coach as of September 2026.

Under its three tournament names, the side has won nine titles.