Report: England WU17s 3-0 Norway
The Young Lionesses start their U17 EURO group stage with an impressive win
England women’s under-17s kicked-off the first game of the 2024 European Women’s Under-17 Championships with a perfect start, putting three past Norway at Lund’s Klostergårdens.
The Young Lionesses’ lively opening immediately put them on the front foot and two goals ahead after 15 minutes.
A series of tidy moves down the left freed Lola Brown in space for a cross met by Erica Parkinson at the back post to open the scoring.
And Laila Harbert doubled the lead just over five minutes later. Capitalising on a loose clearance, the England captain’s strike from outside the area beautifully clipped the underside of the bar on its way in.
Natalie Henderson’s side started the second half as quickly as the first, with Brown getting a deserved goal after continuing to cause problems for Norway throughout. Parkinson returned the favour with a cross that made its way to Brown lurking at the back post, whose shot was buried via the woodwork.
The rest of the game settled into a comfortable and confident performance for England, who managed to contain increased pressure from Norway as the game ticked on.
Henderson’s team arrived at the competition with an almost flawless qualifying campaign, and will hope this result presents a promising statement of their aspirations for the tournament which also offers a chance of qualification for the FIFA Women's U17 World Cup later this year.
England continue their EURO journey in Group A on Wednesday against hosts Sweden, before they face France on Saturday.
Substitutes: 20 Jane Oboavwoduo (Manchester City) for Jones 30, 5 Simone Sherwood (Leicester City) for Peacock 66, 16 Olivia Johnson (Brighton & Hove Albion) for Fisher 66, 12 Sophie Harrison (Arsenal) for Harbert 78, 18 Mia Endacott (Plymouth Argyle) for Las 78
Substitutes not used: 1 Hope McSheffrey (Arsenal), 14 Emily Cassap (Sunderland), 17 Eva Gray (Arsenal), 19 Isabel Hebard (Devon ETC)
Goals: Erica Parkinson 5, Laila Harbet 12, Lola Brown 48
Head coach: Natalie Henderson
SEE THE WU17s EURO SQUAD