Report: England MU17s 6-2 Georgia

England booked their place in the UEFA U17 EURO elite round of qualifying with an emphatic 6-2 victory over Georgia.

The Young Lions got their UEFA U17 EURO campaign underway on Tuesday with a 3-1 victory over Lithuania and they impressed once again in their second match of the qualifying round.

First-half goals from Tyler Dibling, Ethan Nwaneri, Jimmy-Jay Morgan and Myles Lewis-Skelly meant England were in an extremely strong position heading into the interval at the GFF Rustavi Academy on Friday afternoon.

And another for Morgan and Dibling, plus some resolute defending, in the second half helped ensure it was two wins from two, and guaranteed progression with a game to spare.

The top two in each mini-group will join top seeds Netherlands and Spain in the elite round of qualifying in the spring, along with the four third-placed teams with the best records against the top two in their section.

And with England on six points, Israel on four, Lithuania on one and Georgia pointless after two matches, it means the Young Lions are guaranteed a top-two finish in Group 3 regardless of the result in Monday’s final match with Israel.

The 32 teams in the elite round of qualifying will then be hoping to join hosts Hungary at the 16-team UEFA European Under-17 Championship Finals from 17 May to 2 June 2023.
England got off to an ideal start against Georgia when captain Michael Golding set up Southampton’s Dibley after just three minutes.

Georgia did equalise moments later when Golding conceded a penalty, which was dispatched by Saba Geguchadze.

Five years ago today, our #YoungLions became #FIFAU17WC champions! 🏆 pic.twitter.com/MQRkPUNDGW

— England (@England) October 28, 2022

But the Young Lions had regained their lead by the ninth minute when Nwaneri, the Premier League’s youngest ever player, scored following some nice combination play with Arsenal team-match Myles Lewis-Skelly.

Southampton striker Morgan had his first goal of the afternoon just before the half-hour mark with a half-volley into the bottom left corner, before Lewis-Skelly had a goal of his own just before the break.

Morgan made it 5-1 on 57 minutes before Aleksandre Amisulashvili pulled a goal back with a powerful header just three minutes later.

Georgia were giving it everything they had in the final half an hour and had a few chances of note as they looked for an unlikely comeback.

But it was to be Dibling who scored the game’s final goal with a tap-in at the far post after some good play down England’s left-hand side.

Next up for the Young Lions is their final Group 3 match against Israel at the Tbilisi Sea Technical Center Stadium on Monday (2pm BST), with the top spot still up for grabs.

England: 1 Ted Curd (Chelsea); 2 Josh Acheampong (Chelsea), 16 Travis Akomeah (Chelsea), 6 Ishé Samuels-Smith (Everton), 15 Mirsad Ali (Leicester City); 4 Myles Lewis-Skelly (Arsenal); 8 Kiano Dyer (Chelsea), 20 Ethan Nwaneri (Arsenal), 10 Michael Golding (Chelsea) (captain); 9 Jimmy-Jay Morgan (Southampton), 17 Tyler Dibling (Southampton)

Substitutes: 7 Justin Oboavwoduo (Manchester City) for Morgan 71, 14 Chris Rigg (Sunderland) for Dyer 71, 18 Jamaldeen Jimoh (West Bromwich Albion) for Golding 71, 12 Lakyle Samuel (Manchester City) for Ali 79, 11 Oliver Irow (Tottenham Hotspur) for Nwaneri 84

Substitutes not used: 13 Jack Thompson (Derby County), 3 Jayden Meghoma (Southampton), 5 Zach Abbott (Nottingham Forest), 19 Leon Chiwome (Wolverhampton Wanderers)

Head coach: Ryan Garry

Goals: Tyler Dibling 3, 87, Ethan Nwaneri 9, Jimmy-Jay Morgan 28, 57, Myles Lewis-Skelly 43

Bookings: Michael Golding 5, Kiano Dyer 36, Myles Lewis-Skelly 49