England Under-17s beat Northern Ireland in decisive victory.
England trounced Northern Ireland with a 5-1 score in a dominant performance at St. George’s Park on the 20th of March.
The U-17 teams for Northern Ireland and England faced off against each other in qualifiers for the UEFA European Under-17 Championship Finals.
Divine Mukasa and Baylee Dipepa were the star players for the England team with two goals each. Ethan Nwanari rounded out the scoresheet for the Three Lions with a goal in the second half.
Northern Ireland struggled throughout the game to retain possession of the ball. Despite this, they opened up the scoring in the 19th minute of the match, with Callum Burnside finishing a move started by the captain Briaden McClure.
This goal came as one of the first chances Northern Ireland got in the early stages of the game.
Despite the early lead, Northern Ireland failed to capitalise on the momentum of the goal. England took advantage of a scramble in front of the net to level things up just 10 minutes later with Divine Mukasa’s first goal of the match.
The rest of the first half passed without any more goals, as both teams played well defensively. That, alongside some key saves from both goalkeepers, kept the game 1-1 going into halftime.
The Three Lions took complete control of the match in the second half, scoring four unanswered goals to dominate against the struggling defence of Northern Ireland.
Midfielder Ethan Nwaneri, who has recently signed his first professional contract with Arsenal, scored in the 63rd minute to make it 2-1. From this point on England didn't look back.
Port Vale striker Baylee Dipepa came on as a substitute during the second half and quickly made his presence known. He scored two goals back to back at 66’ and 68’ as the Northern Ireland squad failed to regroup from the offensive push.
Mukasa scored his second of the match to finish the game in the 88th minute, wrapping up a dominant performance for the England Under 17’s.
This match solidified England’s place in the EURO Finals, which will take place in Cyprus this May.