Report: Denmark 2-4 England MU19s

England mens under-19s completed their UEFA U19 EURO qualifying round with three wins from three after a clinical 4-2 victory over hosts Denmark.

Simon Rusk’s side had already done enough to secure progress to next year’s elite round after victories over Montenegro and Georgia in their first two games.

And they made no mistake in their final game of the group in Hobro, as second-half goals from Sonny Perkins, George Hall, Omari Forson and Darko Gyabi sealed the points.

The Young Lions will now await the elite round draw being made later this year as they aim to defend their title from last season at the 2023 U19 EURO Finals in Malta next summer.

While all the goals came in the second half, it was an evenly contested first period between two confident teams, with England having the pick of the chances.

Firstly, Rico Lewis’ darting run down the right ended with a cross for Perkins, who side-footed wide at full stretch under pressure from a defender.

The clearest opportunity came when Danish goalkeeper William Lykke was caught out in the area when seeing his attempted pass out intercepted by Gyabi. The Young Lions captain didn’t have long to line up a shot, before Lykke was out quickly to block his attempt and atone for his error.

And the hosts had their best chance in first-half stoppage time when Gustav Christensen embarked on a run from the left to break into the box and set himself up with an angle to shoot, only to place his effort wide of the far post.

England took the lead less than five minutes after the restart, when the impressive Luke Chambers delivered a perfect cross from the left for Perkins to get a touch on it and see it creep home at the near post.

Denmark were level within a minute though, as Gustav Mortensen skipped away on the right before picking out Oliver Ross in the middle. The striker took an excellent first touch to guide himself away from a challenge before firing an unstoppable shot into the roof of the goal to give James Beadle no chance.

But the game quickly swung back in England’s favour soon after when Chambers was again on the front foot to pick out Hall, with the Birmingham City forward crashing a low left-footer into the bottom corner past a helpless Lykke.

England saved their best for the third goal though, when substitute Forson gave the Young Lions a two-goal cushion. The move began on the right, where Sammy Braybrooke cleverly evaded his man before playing an inch-perfect lofted pass over the defence into the path of Perkins. He drew Lykke before squaring the ball for Forson who was left with the task of firing home into an empty goal.

The Danes weren’t done though and with 15 minutes remaining they reduced the deficit through Ross, who scrambled home from close range after sub Alex Lyng’s shot had been saved by Beadle.

Chambers then saw a long-range effort crash back off the crossbar with Gyabi’s follow-up saved by Lykke.

But Gyabi finally got the goal his performance deserved in stoppage time, when Lewis set him up in the box and the Leeds United man struck firmly into the bottom corner to wrap things up.

England: 1 James Beadle (Brighton & Hove Albion), 2 Rico Lewis (Manchester City), 3 Luke Chambers (Liverpool), 4 Sammy Braybrooke (Leicester City), 5 Ben Nelson (Rochdale, loan from Leicester City), 6 Adam Wharton (Blackburn Rovers), 7 Sonny Perkins (Leeds United), 8 Darko Gyabi (Leeds United) (c), 10 George Hall (Birmingham City), 15 Ashley Phillips (Blackburn Rovers), 16 Lewis Hall (Chelsea)

Substitutes: 11 Omari Forson (Manchester United) for Wharton 59, 12 Divin Mubama (West Ham United) for Hall 74, 19 Lee Jonas (Liverpool) for Nelson 87, 17 Isaac Mabaya (Liverpool) for Perkins 87

Substitutes not used: 9 Oakley Cannonier (Liverpool), 13 Joseph Whitworth (Crystal Palace), 14 Sam Mather (Manchester United), 16 Ben Chrisene (Kilmarnock, loan from Aston Villa), 20 Kian Pennant (Leicester City), 22 Tommy Simkin (Stoke City),

Head coach: Simon Rusk

Goals: Sonny Perkins 49, George Hall 54, Omari Forson 73, Darko Gyabi 90