Report: France 2-1 England MU17s

England’s ten men did well to limit France’s goal scoring opportunities in the second half and the youngsters even created a handful of chances to get themselves back into the game.

The first came just two minutes into the second 45 when France goalkeeper Ayoube Akabou misjudged a cross from the right. The loose ball bounced into the path of Christian McFarlane but didn’t drop nicely for the defender who scuffed his shot wide.

20 minutes Greg Lincoln’s side carved out another goalscoring chance with some good play down the left. McFarlane’s cross was met by King who beat his defender to the ball but the France goalkeeper was able to collect the 17 year old’s effort.

Ethan Nwaneri netted the Young Lions’ only goal of the game in the 70th minute. A lofted ball found McFarlane on the left touchline who whipped a cross into the box. Nwaneri calmly chested the ball down and struck it with his left foot. The Arsenal man’s shot took a deflection and nestled into the bottom right corner.

The MU17s came close to finding their equaliser when substitute Jay Robinson battled brilliantly to steal the ball from the French defence. The Southampton forward drove towards the box and unleashed a left footed shot but the strike was off target and bounced past the post.

Although the result is not what Lincoln and his squad wanted, the team’s success in their previous EURO qualifying ties mean they make it into the hat for the finals in Cyprus this summer.

England: 13 Oliver Whatmuff (Manchester City), 2 Leo Shahar (Newcastle United), 3 Christian McFarlane (New York City), 4 Joshua King (Fulham), 5 Stephen Mfuni (Manchester City), 6 Kian Noble (Manchester City), 8 Christopher Rigg (Sunderland), 10 Ethan Nwaneri (Arsenal), 14 Baylee Dipepa (Port Vale), 19 Ollie Harrison (Chelsea), 20 Divine Mukasa (Manchester City)

Substitutes: 18 Harry Amass (Manchester United) for Dipepa 45, 15 Jay Robinson (Southampton) for Mukasa 80, 9 Luca Fletcher for Harrison (Manchester City) 84

Substitutes not used: 1 Spike Brits Thorsten (Manchester City), 11 Farooq Sanusi Trevan (Newcastle United), 12 Jaden Dixon (Stoke City), 16 Samuel Amissah (Fulham), 17 Ryan McAidoo (Chelsea)

Head Coach: Greg Lincoln

Goal: Nwaneri (Arsenal) 70’