Jed Ward made his England U20 debut after Bristol Rovers breakthrough campaign

Jed Ward played the full 90 minutes for England Under-20s on Friday afternoon as they beat Sweden Under-21s 2-1 in a friendly, earning the Bristol Rovers goalkeeper his first cap for the Young Lions.

The 21-year-old earned his first call-up in March but failed to make an appearance with James Beadle then using the shot stopper, but now the young stopper has a well-deserved cap after a breakthrough season with the Gas.

2024 has been a whirlwind for Ward so far, having established himself as Rovers’ first-choice goalkeeper in League One at the age of 20, alongside two England Under-20 caps and signing a new four-year deal years in March. especially when you consider that he has started the 2023/24 season on loan in the National League.

Following the arrival of Matt Cox on loan from Brentford, Ward joined Wealdstone on a season-long loan last summer but was recalled in November due to a lack of stoppers ahead of the Gas’ EFL Trophy tie at Newport County. Former caretaker manager Andy Mangan played the then 20-year-old who kept a clean sheet in a 1-0 win but had to wait another two months before playing for Rovers.

Matt Taylor opted to give the academy product a chance between the sticks at the end of January, putting him on for Rovers’ 3-1 win over Oxford United, and Ward hasn’t looked back since, playing 17 of the remaining games. 18 games after a man of the match display against the U’s.

In that time, the 21-year-old has kept five clean sheets with a string of excellent performances and, having come through the academy and hailing from Bradley Stoke, Gasheads will be keen to see the youngster retain his status of the first choice for the new campaign.