Substitutes make their mark as England MU19s beat Mexico 3-1

England men’s under-19s reaped the rewards of some impressive impact substitutions against Mexico this afternoon as they secured a 3-1 victory in Spain.

With the Young Lions trailing at the break, half-time substitute Aaron Ramsey scored an equaliser soon after his arrival, before a shot from Nile John led to an own-goal.

And the victory was secured at the Marbella Football Centre in the final ten minutes when another substitute, Chelsea’s Harvey Vale, made it 3-1.

Head coach Ian Foster has taken a 23-man squad to Spain for three matches as they prepare for the MU19s’ first UEFA U19 EURO qualifying games in November.

Having suffered a 3-1 defeat to France on Wednesday, England also had a disappointing start against Mexico today as they conceded in the ninth minute, as a corner from the right was headed in at the near post by Fidel Ambriz.

Foster decided to bring on Ramsey at half time and it produced an immediate impact, as seven minutes after the restart, the Aston Villa midfielder swivelled and finished well from 12 yards out, after some impressive build-up play.

England then secured the victory with two goals inside the final quarter of an hour.

The second came after Spurs’ midfielder John ran into the box and when his shot rebounded off the post, it was turned into his own net by the Mexico defender.

And in the 84th minute, the result was all-but confirmed when Vale scored with a drive from outside the box.

As the game came to a conclusion, there was a coming together which led to a red card for one of the Mexico players.

MU19s’ triple header in Marbella will conclude on Tuesday when they face Belgium, with kick-off 3pm BST (4pm local).

Foster’s men will then be back in action in November they face UEFA U19 EURO qualifying group hosts Sweden, Andorra and Switzerland, as they look to secure their place for the U19 EURO Finals in Slovakia next summer.

England: 1 Harvey Davies (Liverpool), 2 Daniel Oyegoke (Brentford), 3 Luke Mbete-Tabu (Manchester City), 4 Nile John (Tottenham Hotspur), 5 Will Fish (Stockport County, loan from Manchester United), 6 CJ Egan-Riley (Manchester City), 7 Sam Iling-Junior (Juventus), 8 Charlie Patino (Arsenal), 9 Lewis Dobbin (Everton), 10 Alfie Devine (Tottenham Hotspur), 11 James Norris (Liverpool)

Substitutes: 14 Aaron Ramsey (Aston Villa) for Oyegoke 46, 19 Dane Scarlett (Tottenham Hotspur) for Dobbin 60, 21 Harvey Vale (Chelsea) for Norris 60, 17 James Balagizi (Liverpool) for Patino 70, 12 Jamal Baptiste (West Ham United) for Iling-Junior 85

Substitutes not used: 13 Filip Marschall (Aston Villa), 15 Ronnie Edwards (Peterborough United), 16 Luke Chambers (Liverpool), 18 Alex Scott (Bristol City), 20 Shola Shoretire (Manchester United), 22 Tobi Oluwayemi (Celtic), 23 Callum Doyle (Sunderland, loan from Manchester City)

Head coach: Ian Foster

Goals: Aaron Ramsey 52, own-goal 78, Harvey Vale 84