England U17s face do-or-die qualifier! Young Lions stunned by Lithuania in UEFA U17 Euro First Qualifier and must beat Sweden to progress
England fell to a 1-0 loss to Scotland earlier this week and were defeated by the same scoreline by Lithuania on Friday. Tomas Jonyla scored the only goal of the game as he got the better of George Mair with a 17th-minute free kick. Lithuania were able to hold out for a narrow victory, which leaves England with a mountain to climb if they wish to progress to the U17 Euros.The Young Lions crashed to a narrow defeat against Scotland at the Excelsior Stadium on Tuesday as Luke Douglas broke the deadlock in the 94th minute as the two sides looked set to share the spoils. Charlie Holland was sent off at the full time whistle in the 1-0 defeat for throwing the ball at an opponent after Luke Douglas bagged a late, late winner.Douglas celebrated the victory to the fullest, which Holland took offence to. The young Chelsea midfielder threw the ball into Douglas' face right in front of the referee, who promptly sent the England skipper off.And without their captain, England struggled on Friday as they failed to break Lithuania down. Oliver Boast came close to drawing England level only to hit the post as Lithuania held out for a huge win in their own bid to secure a spot at the U17 Euros.England now need to beat Sweden next week if they are to harbour any hopes of progressing to the tournament. Liam Bramley's side have lost both games so far and sit bottom of Group H heading into the final round of matches next week.There is ample Premier League representation in the England U17s for their meetings with Scotland, Lithuania and Sweden. George Mair of Newcastle United has started between the sticks for both games so far and is expected to keep his place between the sticks for Monday's must-win game. Fellow Newcastle player Sam Alabi captained the side in the absence of Holland.Elsewhere, Chelsea pair Calvin Diakite and Mahdi Nicoll-Jazuli both featured from the outset against Lithuania, as did Arsenal duo Kyran Thompson and Josiah King. Young Gunners teammate Marli Salmon came off in the bench in the 69th minute, while Tottenham forward Oliver Boast led the charge for Bramley's side.Manchester City, Leicester and Everton stars Archie Thornton, Hugo De Lisle and Reuben Gokah also made the cut for the Young Lions on Friday.The top two teams from each group progress into League A, which will consist of seven groups of four teams vying for a spot in the finals. And only the winner of each group will progress to the finals, which take place in 2026.England, therefore, are in danger of missing out on a place in the 2026 finals altogether after losing both games so far.England won the competition in 2010 as they beat Spain 2-1 after extra time courtesy of goals from Andre Wisdom and Connor Wickham. Gerard Deulofeu scored Spain's goal in their narrow loss in Liechtenstein, while Ross Barkley, Jack Butland and Conor Coady were also part of the England setup 15 years ago.And England followed up their 2010 triumph with victory in Malta in 2014, as they beat the Netherlands on penalties in the final. Dominic Solanke scored England's goal in the showpiece event, which ended 1-1, while Ryan Ledson, Taylor Moore, Callum Cooke and Jonjoe Kenny all scored from the spot in a 4-1 shootout triumph.Joe Gomez and Patrick Roberts also featured for the Young Lions back in 2014, while Gregor Kobel, Steven Bergwijn, Ruben Neves, Enes Unal and Renato Sanches also featured for their respective nations in Malta.Portugal are the current champions having eased to a 3-0 victory over France earlier this year in Albania. Spain, though, are the most successful team in the competition's history having won the U17 Euros nine times in their history.
England fell to a 1-0 loss to Scotland earlier this week and were defeated by the same scoreline by Lithuania on Friday. Tomas Jonyla scored the only goal of the game as he got the better of George Mair with a 17th-minute free kick. Lithuania were able to hold out for a narrow victory, which leaves England with a mountain to climb if they wish to progress to the U17 Euros.The Young Lions crashed to a narrow defeat against Scotland at the Excelsior Stadium on Tuesday as Luke Douglas broke the deadlock in the 94th minute as the two sides looked set to share the spoils. Charlie Holland was sent off at the full time whistle in the 1-0 defeat for throwing the ball at an opponent after Luke Douglas bagged a late, late winner.Douglas celebrated the victory to the fullest, which Holland took offence to. The young Chelsea midfielder threw the ball into Douglas' face right in front of the referee, who promptly sent the England skipper off.And without their captain, England struggled on Friday as they failed to break Lithuania down. Oliver Boast came close to drawing England level only to hit the post as Lithuania held out for a huge win in their own bid to secure a spot at the U17 Euros.England now need to beat Sweden next week if they are to harbour any hopes of progressing to the tournament. Liam Bramley's side have lost both games so far and sit bottom of Group H heading into the final round of matches next week.There is ample Premier League representation in the England U17s for their meetings with Scotland, Lithuania and Sweden. George Mair of Newcastle United has started between the sticks for both games so far and is expected to keep his place between the sticks for Monday's must-win game. Fellow Newcastle player Sam Alabi captained the side in the absence of Holland.Elsewhere, Chelsea pair Calvin Diakite and Mahdi Nicoll-Jazuli both featured from the outset against Lithuania, as did Arsenal duo Kyran Thompson and Josiah King. Young Gunners teammate Marli Salmon came off in the bench in the 69th minute, while Tottenham forward Oliver Boast led the charge for Bramley's side.Manchester City, Leicester and Everton stars Archie Thornton, Hugo De Lisle and Reuben Gokah also made the cut for the Young Lions on Friday.The top two teams from each group progress into League A, which will consist of seven groups of four teams vying for a spot in the finals. And only the winner of each group will progress to the finals, which take place in 2026.England, therefore, are in danger of missing out on a place in the 2026 finals altogether after losing both games so far.England won the competition in 2010 as they beat Spain 2-1 after extra time courtesy of goals from Andre Wisdom and Connor Wickham. Gerard Deulofeu scored Spain's goal in their narrow loss in Liechtenstein, while Ross Barkley, Jack Butland and Conor Coady were also part of the England setup 15 years ago.And England followed up their 2010 triumph with victory in Malta in 2014, as they beat the Netherlands on penalties in the final. Dominic Solanke scored England's goal in the showpiece event, which ended 1-1, while Ryan Ledson, Taylor Moore, Callum Cooke and Jonjoe Kenny all scored from the spot in a 4-1 shootout triumph.Joe Gomez and Patrick Roberts also featured for the Young Lions back in 2014, while Gregor Kobel, Steven Bergwijn, Ruben Neves, Enes Unal and Renato Sanches also featured for their respective nations in Malta.Portugal are the current champions having eased to a 3-0 victory over France earlier this year in Albania. Spain, though, are the most successful team in the competition's history having won the U17 Euros nine times in their history.
