England’s U19s enjoyed a stunning start at this season’s European Championships against Lithuania. The Young Lionesses put 10 past the hosts to no reply as Poppy Pritchard and Michelle Agyemang both registered hat-tricks. There were also goals from Katy Watson, Vivienne Lia, Lexi Potter + Maddy Earl.
On Sunday, England U17s will walk out at Lund’s Klostergårdens in southern Sweden to kick off the 2024 U17s Euros. An opener against Norway will then be followed by an encounter with the hosts before facing off with the current holders France as Natalie Henderson’s Young Lionesses look to make their mark on the European stage.
England’s U23s suffered their first loss since October 2022, falling too a 3-1 defeat to Spain. Aggie Beever-Jones gave the Young Lionesses the lead but Spain hit back through Olhane Valdezate and a Bruna Vilamala brace.
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.