Bloomsbury Futsal have been celebrating after seeing six of their players help England U19s win their Euro Championship preliminary round group in Lithuania.

England beat Malta and Estonia to ensure their progress with a game to spare, before also defeating hosts Lithuania ahead of the main round in March.

And they will now take on Italy, Turkey and Czechia, with group winners qualifying for the finals in Croatia in September.

The 12-strong England squad was captained by Bloomsbury's Jamie Brooker, who started futsal aged 10 when also playing football for Leyton Orient's youth teams.

He joined Pro Futsal [which later became Bloomsbury] after being released by O's and has not looked back, netting four times in Lithuania.

"Being captain is something I'll never forget," he said.

"Being able to represent my country is a dream come true and something I've imagined ever since I started playing futsal.

"Being in that professional environment is something I love and felt ready for, thanks to everyone at Bloomsbury as the standards everyone sets are so high.

"Being able to lead the boys out for the three games and play alongside them is something I am proud of. Being the first England futsal team to win three international games in a row is a testament to how hard the staff worked and how well the boys worked on and off the court.

"Bloomsbury has helped my journey massively and helped me develop into a much better player. The support and coaching I've gotten from Juan Tapia Owens, Jamie Nagioff and Jon Kurrant has furthered my skills and helped me become a better player. 

"Playing alongside international players week in, week out has helped me as I've been able to learn from the best players there is and converse with them about the game and certain situations. This has really helped me with my captaincy style, ensuring high professional standards are kept at all times."

Right-winger Josh Nathan scored his first England goal against Malta and also paid tribute to Bloomsbury.

"Bloomsbury has been the reason I've managed to get this far. I've been attending two/three trainings a week for the last couple of years and there is now a clear pathway from the academy to first team," he said.

"I now train with the first team which has further helped me to improve my game."

Dylan Meranda 'fell in love' with how involved goalkeepers are in the game and said wearing the England shirt was 'the best experience of my life'.

"Singing the national anthem gave me a sense of pride like no other and the team got on so well, which helped us achieve great things on the court," he added.

"Bloomsbury have given me the opportunity from a very young age to push myself, playing in higher age groups and now in tier two games at adults level meaning I'm always playing alongside and against great players. This has helped bring the best out of me."

Oli Kaye netted twice, having started under coach Jon Kurrant at the age of nine and come through the ranks at Bloomsbury, and said it was a 'dream come true and huge honour' to represent England.

Clubmate Stanley Young was another to feature, scoring a goal and an assist, having started his futsal journey in year eight and stopped football in year 12.

Young won a national cup at St George's Park and said the England camp had been 'the most amazing experience of my life in terms of sports'.

Alex Brickman completed the Bloomsbury contingent, having started futsal aged nine 'to have a bit of fun' before playing in competitive youth tournaments and graduating to the men's game.

"My experience with England was an incredible opportunity I'll never forget," he said.

"Representing my country in the sport that I love is such an honour and the professionalism of the whole set-up was unparalleled.

"Bloomsbury has helped me become a much better player by coaching and developing my skills through training and tactician education of the game."

For more details see bloomsburyfootball.com/news-article/spotlight-on-bloomsburys-futsal-programme.