By Dan Harrison

England under-21 duo Nathan Delfouneso and Marc Albrighton are among a number of Villa stars to be called up for international duty.

The pair have been named in Stuart Pearce's 24-man squad for the crucial European U21 Championship qualifiers against Portugal and Lithuania.

The Young Lions, who have to win both matches to stand a chance of qualifying for next summer's finals, travel to face Portugal in Barcelos on Friday September 3 [ko 6pm] before taking on Lithuania at Colchester's West Homes Community Stadium on Tuesday September 7 [ko 4pm].

Delfouneso and Albrighton are included after impressing as substitutes on their respective under-21 debuts.

In February, Delfouneso bagged England's only goal in a 2-1 victory over Greece, while Albrighton enjoyed a lively cameo in the recent 2-0 triumph over Uzbekistan.

Albrighton has gone from strength to strength this term.

He followed up a sparkling pre-season by starting in Villa's first three competitive matches, earning four assists along the way.

Elsewhere, Villa skipper Stiliyan Petrov could come up against several familiar faces for Bulgaria.

He has been selected by his national side for Euro 2012 qualifiers against England and Montenegro.

Firstly, Bulgaria head to Wembley on Friday September 3 [ko 8pm] to take on Fabio Capello's team in a Group G clash.

Several Villa stars will be hoping to line up against Petrov, with Capello due to announce his squad on Saturday night.

Petrov's Bulgaria then host Montenegro in Sofia on Tuesday September 7.

John Carew is also primed for Euro 2012 qualification, as Norway prepare to take on Iceland and Portugal.

There is also a call-up for Moustapha Salifou for Togo's trip Botswana.

Barry Bannan will be looking to add to his six caps for Scotland's under-21s.

The Tartan Army have a Euro U21 Championship qualifier against Belarus in Borisov on September 3, followed by a clash with Austria on September 7 at Aberdeen's Pittordie.

Benjamin Siegrist has again been selected by Switezerland's under-19s for a match against Czech Republic in Lausanne.