England’s U17s progressed to the semi-finals of the European Championships thanks to a comfortable 3-1 victory over Sweden. In front of an enthusiastic crowd at the Tartu Tamme Staadion, Arsenal’s Michelle Agyemang continued her strong scoring form with a brace. Leicester’s Ava Baker added a third to send Mo Marley’s side through to the knockouts with one game to spare.
England U19s face Germany in their final group game of Euro 2022 on Sunday evening. With a win and defeat in their opening two matches, they know that a victory is what is needed to see them progress to the semi-finals.
“Obviously, we’re disappointed and quite frustrated,” reflected Gemma Davies on a dissatisfying afternoon for England’s U19s. “We were slow coming out. I think generally we were quite sloppy, not making or connecting simple passes and perhaps forcing things that we didn’t need to. And I’m disappointed actually with our chances created.”
It has been a whirlwind few years for England U19s manager, Gemma Davies. From being handed the Head Coach role at Aston Villa back in 2018 to now being fully immersed in international youth football, it has been a learning curve for the young manager as she looks to establish her career in the sport.
As we reflect back on 2021, the return of youth-level football on an international stage has to be one of the highlights. With tournaments cancelled for over a year due to coronavirus, football federations have had to play catch up as a generation of young footballers missed out on the traditional pathways to develop their trade.
England U19s opened their European qualification with a hard-fought victory over a spirited Republic of Ireland side.
England’s U17s were back in action on Thursday afternoon as they secured a vital win against Belgium in their European Qualifying group.
England’s U17s began their European qualifying campaign with defeat to Russia in Inowroclaw.
524 days is how long England U19s coach, Lydia Bedford, has calculated since her group of young footballers had an international fixture. It is a large amount of time by any stretch, but particularly so in the cycle of youth football that prepares the next generation for their senior careers.