Report: Sweden 1-5 England WU17s

England women’s under-17s took on the host nation Sweden in their second group game of the 2024 European Under-17 Championships and came away with an impressive 5-1 win, with striker Isabella Fisher notching a nine-minute hat-trick.

With two wins from their opening games, following on from Sunday's victory over Norway, the result means England have sealed a place in the semi-finals with a game to spare in their group.

It was fast and frantic start to the game in Lund, with two goals in quick succession for both teams. The Young Lionesses went one goal to the good with a wonderful fourth-minute volley from Jane Oboavwoduo, after some great wide play from Lola Brown.

And Sweden provided an instant response. Forwards Isabelle Goldmann and Felicia Schroder combined for a smart Schroder header to bring the Swedes level in the sixth minute.

Both sides continued on the offensive, with Schroder coming close again striking the bar with a sweet left-footed strike soon after her leveller.

But it was the Young Lionesses who would regain their advantage. A long-range strike from midfielder Omotara Junaid nestled itself in the bottom corner in the 20th minute.

Natalie Henderson's side showed no sign of slowing down. The combination of Brown, Erica Parkinson and Isabella Fisher gave the latter a chance to place the ball home for England’s third goal, as they grabbed control of the fixture.

With Fisher not being done there, she notched herself another two well-taken goals shortly after to complete an emphatic nine-minute hat-trick and give her side a comfortable four-goal lead heading into half time.

With a more tentative start to the second half, Henderson's side were able to keep control for a large portion of the second period, with the only real opportunities for the Young Lionesses coming courtesy Arsenal duo Laila Harbert and Eva Gray with both needing smart saves from the Swedish 'keeper to stop England from increasing their lead.

The Young Lionesses will look ahead to Saturday now when they face the prospect of taking on reigning U17 EURO champions France in their final group game, as they look to take top spot in Group A

England: 1 Hope McSheffrey (Arsenal), 2 Nelly Las (Leicester City), 3 Rachel Maltby (Aston Villa), 4 Laila Harbert (Arsenal/Watford) ©, 6 Cecily Wellesley-Smith (Oxford United), 7 Erica Parkinson (FC Valadares), 8 Omotara Junaid (Arsenal), 9 Isabella Fisher (Arsenal), 11 Lola Brown (Chelsea), 16 Niamh Peacock (Arsenal) 20 Jane Oboavwoduo (Manchester City)

Substitutes: 14 Emily Cassap (Sunderland) for Parkinson 60, 17 Eva Gray (Arsenal) for Oboavwoduo 69, Olivia Hibbert-Johnson (Brighton & Hove Albion) for Isabella Fisher 78, 12 Sophie Harrison (Arsenal) for Rachel Maltby 78

Goals: Jane Oboavwoduo 4, Omotara Junaid 20, Isabella Fisher 26, 29, 35

Head Coach: Natalie Henderson