Report: Portugal 4-1 England MU17

England men’s under-17s’ fate at the UEFA U17 EUROs will be decided on the final day of Group D on Monday after the Young Lions fell to defeat against Portugal.

Following a tightly contested first half between two sides who both enjoyed wins on their opening matchdays, Portugal proved the more clinical of the sides in the second period. 

Early on, England showed the attacking prowess that had given them a thumping 4-0 win against France three days previous. Strikes from Shumaira Mheuka and Ethan Nwaneri called Diogo Ferreira in the Portugal goal into fine stops.

Rodrigo Mora was the first to find the net at the other end with an impressive finish on the edge of the area. 

The Young Lions responded positively to the setback, grabbing the equaliser on the brink of half-time through a neat move down the wings which freed Leo Shahar to cross. It fell kindly to a composed Mikey Moore, who coolly finished his third goal of the competition. 

Mora replied at the start of the second half, tapping in his and Portugal’s second. 

England kept creating chances through Divine Mukasa and Moore, which continued to cause Portugal problems and forced further good saves from Ferreira. 

Gabriel Silva and Afonso Patrão ultimately added to Portugal’s tally to take the game from England, who turn attention to Monday evening’s final group stage match at the Antonis Papadopoulos Stadium. 

Greg Lincoln’s side will face Spain on Monday in a bid to secure qualification into the quarter-finals.

England: 1 Spike Brits (Manchester City), 2 Leo Shahar (Newcastle United), 6 Kian Noble (Manchester City), 16 Samuel Amissah (Fulham), 11 Mikey Moore (Tottenham Hotspur), 20 Divine Mukasa (Manchester City),  4 Ollie Harrison (Chelsea), 8 Christopher Rigg (Sunderland) ©, 3 Christian McFarlane (New York City), 10 Ethan Nwaneri (Arsenal), 9 Shumaira Mheuka (Chelsea)

Substitutes: 14 Baylee Dipepa (Port Vale) for Mheuka 61, 18 Harry Amass (Manchester United) for McFarlane 69, 19 Callum Olusesi (Tottenham Hotspur) for Rigg 69, 7 Jack Fletcher (Manchester United) 69, 17 Christian Dunbar-McDonald (Manchester City) for Moore 84

Substitutes not used: 13 Oliver Whatmuff (Manchester City), 5 Stephen Mfuni (Manchester City), 12 Jaden Dixon (Stoke City), 15 Luca Fletcher (Manchester City)

Goals: Moore 43

Head coach: Greg Lincoln