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Published 10 September 2024 3 min read
Men's U17

Report: Germany 1-3 England MU17s

Written by:

Nicholas Veevers

The Young Lions finished their trip to Germany with a victory over the host nation in Duisburg

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England men’s under-17s showed a spirited comeback to earn a 3-1 win over host nation Germany at the Sportschule Wedau in Duisburg on Tuesday morning.

Neil Ryan’s Young Lions ended their three-game trip unbeaten, following on from their victory over Mexico and a draw with Israel as second-half goals from Kaden Braithwaite (pictured above), Seth Ridgeon and Reigan Heskey secured victory.

They had to come from behind too, as Germany started brightly and took an early lead after just eight minutes of the game. The goal came after good work on the right from Lennart Karl saw the Bayern Munich youngster cut inside and play a through ball for Alexander Staff, who made no mistake in firing past Jack Porter to put the hosts ahead.

England had to weather a storm of German pressure after that, as the hosts looked to build on their early advantage but Ryan’s team remained firm before starting to up the tempo before the break.

They continued that after the re-start and stunned their hosts by taking the lead with two quickfire goals within three minutes to swing the game in their favour.
Fulham's Seth Ridgeon put England ahead with the second goal in Duisburg
Fulham's Seth Ridgeon put England ahead with the second goal in Duisburg
Five minutes after the restart, Brighton winger Harry Howell embarked on a twisting run as he spun his marker before bursting into the box. He pulled a cross back which was diverted out to Braithwaite, with the Manchester United player making no mistake by planting a firm shot home to equalise.

And soon after that they were ahead, as Fulham midfielder Ridgeon was quick to press and rob possession midway into the German half before taking the ball on and producing a smart finish.

With 15 minutes to go, substitute Heskey wrapped up the scoring shortly after his introduction. Picking up the ball on the right, the Manchester City forward dropped a shoulder and accelerated past a defender into the box before firing a shot into the roof of the goal to make it 3-1.

The Young Lions will now turn their attentions to October’s UEFA U17 EURO qualifiers, which sees them head to Malta for games against the host nation, Latvia and Sweden.

England: 22 Jack Porter (Arsenal), 2 Wes Okoduwa (Wolverhampton Wanderers), 4 Chinaza Nwosu (West Ham United), 5 Malachi Hardy (Tottenham Hotspur) (c), 6 Jun'Ai Byfield (Tottenham Hotspur), 7 Harry Howell (Brighton & Hove Albion), 8 Seth Ridgeon (Fulham), 9 Igor Tyjon (Blackburn Rovers), 10 Max Dowman (Arsenal), 18 Finlay Gorman (Manchester City), 21 Kaden Braithwaite (Manchester City)

Substitutes: 16 Luke Rawlings (Wolverhampton Wanderers) for Nwosu 55, 23 Reigan Heskey (Manchester City) for Tyjon 65, 11 Luca Williams-Barnett (Tottenham Hotspur) for Gorman 65, 17 Freddie Simmonds (Brighton & Hove Albion) for Dowman 72, 14 Ryan McAidoo (Manchester City) for Byfield 72, 3 Mantato Bendito (Manchester United) for Braithwaite 79, 24 Dante Headley (Manchester City) for Ridgeon 79, 15 Theo Julienne (Arsenal) for Howell 79, 12 Max Jenner (Aston Villa) for Okoduwa 90

Substitutes not used: 1 Lanre Awesu (West Ham United), 13 Freddy Bernal (Chelsea), 19 Chizaram Ezenwata (Chelsea)

Head coach: Neil Ryan

Goals: Kaden Braithwaite 53, Seth Ridgeon 55, Reigan Heskey 75