Report: England MU17s 5-0 Kosovo

England MU17s made it 13 goals in two EURO qualifying games as they booked their place in the elite round with a 5-0 victory over Kosovo.

Greg Lincoln’s side kicked off their UEFA European Under-17 Championship campaign with an 8-0 win over the Faroe Islands on Friday and Monday’s victory in Croatia guaranteed a spot in the elite round of qualifying early next year.

The win in Zaprešić, Croatia, came courtesy of braces from Crystal Palace’s Jesse Derry and Tottenham Hotspur’s Callum Olusesi, and a goal from Luca Fletcher.

The Young Lions will now conclude the first round of qualifying against the hosts Croatia on Thursday, with kick-off at 12pm GMT.

England dominated possession early on against Kosovo but had to wait until just after the quarter-hour mark to take the lead when good play down the left led to a saved shot and Derry was there to put away the rebound.

The second goal came midway through the half when a cross from the byline eluded everyone and Derry was there again to smash the ball into the roof of the net from close range.

England didn’t have to wait long in the second half to score their third as Mikey Moore ran down the left and cut the ball back to Olusesi, who finished emphatically.

Olusesi scored his second goal of the game on 64 minutes in a similar fashion, this time it was Jay Robinson who reached the byline and pulled the ball back for the Spurs youngster to smash home.

He then turned provider as Olusesi played a through ball for substitute Luca Fletcher and from the right-hand side found the left corner with a brilliant finish.

A second impressive win means Lincoln’s side are guaranteed qualification from Group 9, with the top two in each of the 13 pools, plus the five third-placed teams with the best records against those who have qualified from their mini-league, progressing to the elite round.

March’s elite round will then determine the 15 teams who will join hosts Cyprus at the UEFA U17 EURO finals.

England: 1 Thorsten Spike Brits (Manchester City), 2 Leo Shahar (Newcastle United), 4 Joshua King (Fulham), 5 Stephen Mfuni (Manchester City), 6 Kian Noble (Manchester City) ©, 7 Jesse Derry (Crystal Palace), 9 Shumaira Mheuka (Chelsea), 10 Mikey Moore (Tottenham Hotspur), 11 Callum Olusesi (Tottenham Hotspur), 18 Harry Amass (Manchester United), 19 Ollie Harrison (Chelsea)

Substitutes: 14 Luca Fletcher (Manchester City) for Mheuka 62, 20 Divine Mukasa (Manchester City) for Moore 62, 15 Jay Robinson (Southampton) for Derry 62, 16 Finlay Cartwright (Middlesbrough) for King 62, 12 Leke Drake (Manchester City) for Noble 71

Substitutes not used: 13 Douglass Lukjanciks (Everton), 3 Christian McFarlane (New York City), 8 Jack Fletcher (Manchester United), 17 Christian Dunbar-McDonald (Manchester City)

Head coach: Greg Lincoln

Goals: Derry 16, 24, Olusesi 46, 64, Luca Fletcher 73

Bookings: Olusesi 30