Report: England WU19s 2-3 Wales

England women’s under-19s suffered a 3-2 defeat to Wales which slightly halted the Young Lionesses’ bid to reach the 2026 UEFA Women’s Under-19 European Championship.

Lauren Smith’s side put up good fight in the second of three fixtures in the final round of qualifying for this summer’s tournament but couldn’t beat their neighbours.

Despite striking first, England’s opponents flipped the script to take the lead before the interval and despite equalising in the second half, Wales clinched all three points in Switzerland.

The first 20 minutes of the game saw chances for both teams. England looked comfortable in possession but struggled to finish their chances.

The Young Lionesses broke the deadlock after 24 minutes. The goal came from Welsh defender Cadi Rodgers whose attempted back-pass was askew and with the goalkeeper unable to reach the ball, it trickled over the line.

Only two minutes later, Wales were back level, winning the ball in their own half which led to a counter-attack and ended in a goal through Emily Cole.

Minutes before half time, the Welsh pressure materialised into another goal, this time from Scarlett Hill, meaning England trailed at the break.

After the restart, the Young Lionesses found the equaliser when Eva Hendle was played through by a ball from Lauryn Thompson. Hendle rounded the Welsh keeper and slotted the ball into the back of the net with poise.

However, England conceded their third goal from a corner with around 15 minutes left on the clock as Hill bagged a brace.

The Young Lionesses went in search of an equaliser in the final moments of the game, coming close on multiple occasions but it wasn’t to be.

England take on hosts and Group A1 leaders Switzerland on Wednesday 15 April (12.00 BST kick-off) in their final EURO Qualifier.

The Young Lionesses currently occupy third place in the rankings, having beaten Latvia 5-0 to put three points on the board.

England: 1 Sophie Jackson (Tottenham Hotspur), 3 Rachel Maltby (Aston Villa) (c), 4 May Cruft (Rangers), 6 Cecily Wellesley-Smith (FC Rosengard, on loan from Arsenal), 7 Lauryn Thompson (North Carolina Courage), 9 Lois Shooter (Chelsea), 10 Lola Brown (Crystal Palace, on loan from Chelsea), 11 Eva Hendle (Chelsea), 15 Jessica Pegram (Rangers, on loan from Brighton & Hove Albion), 18 Sacha Lewis (Manchester City), 20 Sienna-Rose Wareing (Manchester United)

Substitutes: 12 Vera Jones (Bristol City, on loan from Chelsea) for Brown 62’, 8 Chloe Hylton (Carolina Ascent) for Cruft 62’, 14 Layla Drury (Manchester United) for Hendle 82’

Substitutes not used: 2 Nelly Las (Ipswich Town, on loan from Leicester City), 5 Zara Shaw (Liverpool), 13 Silvana Marshall Miranda (Brighton & Hove Albion), 16 Niamh Peacock (Arsenal Academy, dual registration with Portsmouth), 17 Jessica Anderson (Manchester United), 19 Jhanaie Pierre (Tottenham Hotspur)

Head coach: Lauren Smith

Goals: OG 24’, Hendle 48’