West Norfolk footballer Kieran Lambourne has been selected to represent England at the World Amputee Football Federation World Cup.
The 18-year-old has been included in the England senior squad which is heading to Mexico later this year – and is raising funds to help ensure the team can make the trip.
The England Amputee Football Association (EAFA) has named a 13-man squad for the tournament, which will feature 24 nations competing across four cities in the state of Jalisco in late October and early November.
Lambourne, from Tilney St Lawrence, near King's Lynn, is one of two goalkeepers named and is currently in the United States for warm-up games against Haiti and the USA in Houston, Texas.
Lambourne was born without one of his arms below the elbow and plays for Peterborough United as a goalkeeper.
'I have to focus on what I can do rather than what I can't on my weaker side, which is my left, where I haven't got a hand,' he explained. 'I guess my distribution and movement are the most important things.'
Lambourne is a first year sports science student at Portsmouth University and plays for Peterborough around once a month, against Arsenal, Brighton and Portsmouth in the southern league, as well as cup games against the likes of Manchester City, Everton and West Brom.
The game is played in a seven-a-side format with 25-minute halves, with outfield players having the use of one leg and keepers one arm. The teen made his England debut in Dublin last month, in a 2-0 win over Poland, and has made the cut for the World Cup squad after attending training camps and performing well in the league.
England were runners-up at the European Championship last year, being beaten 2-1 by hosts Turkey in front of 40,000 fans at Vodafone Park, the home of Besiktas.
Now he is helping the England team to raise funds for the World Cup, as they are not funded by a national governing body and have to rely on sponsorship.
Lambourne added: 'My arm has never really set me back that much, I've always just adapted, with the help of my parents along the way.'
• You can support Kieran at gofundme.com/send-england-amps-to-the-world-cup
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