Report: England WU19s 5-0 Latvia

England women’s under-19s put in a five-star display against Latvia to take a step closer to reaching the 2026 UEFA Women’s Under-19 European Championship.

A 5-0 victory – with goals from five different scorers – got the Young Lionesses up and running in the final round of qualifying, topping Group A1 as it stands.

The Young Lionesses are vying for a place at this summer’s tournament, which takes place in Bosnia and Herzegovina between June and July, having progressed to the next stage of qualifying in October.

Around ten minutes into the contest, Lauren Smith’s side took the lead through Zara Shaw. Vera Jones’ corner was met by the head of the Liverpool defender who nodded in at the near post to make it 1-0.

With the half-hour mark approaching, the Young Lionesses doubled their advantage. Jessica Anderson was tripped in the box and England teammate Rachel Maltby stepped up to convert the resulting penalty, sending the Latvian keeper the wrong way.

England survived a scare shortly after the restart in the second half when Latvia came close to halving the deficit with a shot that cannoned back off the crossbar.

Smith’s team added a third with around 20 minutes left on the watch. Second-half substitute Lois Shooter raced into the box, laying off the ball for Layla Drury in acres of space and Manchester United’s youngest-ever debutant slotted home.

It wasn’t long before England midfielder Chloe Hylton got in on the act, glancing in the Young Lionesses’ fourth goal of the game from a pinpoint cross in from the right around five minutes later.

And there was still time to add to the growing scoreline. With just two minutes of normal time remaining, Jones – provider-turned-scorer – took aim from outside the box as the ball kissed the upright on the way in to make it five.

England are back in action on Sunday 12 April when they face Wales (4.30pm BST kick-off), with all three qualifiers being staged in Switzerland.

England: 1 Sophie Jackson (Tottenham Hotspur), 2 Nelly Las (Ipswich Town, on loan from Leicester City), 3 Rachel Maltby (Aston Villa), 5 Zara Shaw (Liverpool), 8 Chloe Hylton (Carolina Ascent), 12 Vera Jones (Bristol City, on loan from Chelsea), 14 Layla Drury (Manchester United), 16 Niamh Peacock (Arsenal Academy, dual registration with Portsmouth), 17 Jessica Anderson (Manchester United), 19 Jhanaie Pierre (Tottenham Hotspur), 20 Sienna-Rose Wareing (Manchester United)

Substitutes: 9 Lois Shooter (Chelsea) for Pierre 60’, 15 Jessica Pegram (Rangers, on loan from Brighton & Hove Albion) for Peacock 60’, 6 Cecily Wellesley-Smith (FC Rosengard, on loan from Arsenal) for Shaw 60’, 18 Sacha Lewis (Manchester City) for Maltby 78’, 7 Lauryn Thompson (North Carolina Courage) for Drury 81’

Substitutes not used: 4 May Cruft (Rangers), 10 Lola Brown (Crystal Palace, on loan from Chelsea), 11 Eva Hendle (Chelsea), 13 Silvana Marshall Miranda (Brighton & Hove Albion)

Head coach: Lauren Smith

Goals: Shaw 11’, Maltby 28’, Drury 68’, Hylton 75’, Jones 88’