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Palmer, from Hampton, flew out of Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia as part of a 20-man squad to represent England in the 4th World Deaf Football Championships.

Manager Sam Manoochehri selected Palmer, who plays up front or on either wing, as part of his squad that will face Australia, Gabon and Nigeria in Group D.

The group trained at St George’s Park over the weekend before flying out to Asia.

Will getting ready for action with England.

He said: “It's a surreal feeling to play in my first ever international competition

“We've worked towards this competition for a few years now and hopefully, all of that hard work will pay off.

“I'm confident every single individual in the squad and staff to put in absolutely everything to do the best we can.

“I want to show the people the exciting football we will play and prove that deafness should not be a barrier towards your dreams and bring home a World Cup and make the city and country proud.”

Will is welcomed to the Town Hall to celebrate his selection and to meet Mayor Nick Sandford (middle) as well as councillors local ward John Howard and Mohammed Farooq.

Will, an avid Posh fan, has been part of the England squad since 2019 but due to lockdowns is going to be playing in his first major tournament this summer.

He is profoundly deaf since birth and has had a cochlear implant since the age of two. He uses sign language and speech to communicate.

He already has three caps for England; appearing against the USA, Scotland and Wales, where he scored.

Will won bronze at the deaf Champions League European U21 Championships under 21 in 2019 with the Peterborough United Deaf side.

Will working alongside Jack Grealish as part of a campaign to promote deaf awareness.

Earlier in his career, he played local football for Hampton and Northern Star and Stamford as a youth and then went to Posh Scholarship then played for Leeds Beckett Uni while at Uni from 2020.

He graduated in July and now plays for FC Peterborough.

He also plays for Leeds deaf side Farsley Celtic and helped them to lift the FA Disability Dup in 2022 in a game that was broadcast live on BT sport.

While top scorer in the Northamptonshire youth league in 2019, Will even made a senior appearance for Stamford at the age of 18.

He also gives talks at local primary schools about inclusion and sport. He has also featured in various campaigns for the FA to promote deaf awareness working with England starts Jack Grealish, Ben Chilwell and Jordan Henderson.

All of England’s matches will be streamed live on Youtube and will be available on England’s social media channels.

The fixtures are:

England v Australia - 23rd September. 1:30pm UK time

Nigeria v England - 25th September. 9:30am UK time

Gabon v England - 27th September. 1:30pm UK time.

Peterborough's Will Palmer flies out to represent England at World Cup