Portsmouth, Southend and Colchester joined by West Ham under-21s in EFL Trophy group

Pompey's opponents for the first round of the 2020-21 EFL Trophy have been confirmed.

Published 18th Aug 2020, 13:44 GMT

Pompey celebrate their EFL Trophy success in 2019. Picture: Joe Pepler

West Ham under-21s will join the Blues, Colchester and Southend in Southern Group A.

The opening group match will take place on September 8/9.

That's sandwiched between Pompey's season opener against Stevenage in the Carabao Cup first round on September 5/6 and their League One curtain-raiser the following weekend.

Kenny Jackett's side are long-standing champions of the EFL Trophy.

They memorably beat Sunderland on penalties at Wembley in 2019 when branded the Checkatrade Trophy.

Meanwhile, Pompey are still waiting to learn when their 2019-20 final against Salford will take place, following its April cancellation during the coronavirus crisis.

The competition will no longer be referred to as the Leasing.com Trophy, having pulled out of their sponsorship following one season.