Report: Switzerland 2-0 England WU19s

England women’s under-19s suffered defeat to leaders Switzerland in League A – Group A1 to rule the Young Lionesses out of the 2026 UEFA Women’s Under-19 European Championship Finals.

Lauren Smith ended the April international window, her last in charge of the WU19s, with a slim defeat to Switzerland at the Tissot-Arena.

A goal in each half from Emanuela Pfister was the difference as the Young Lionesses ended the last of three fixtures in the final round of qualifying for this summer’s tournament with one win and two defeats.

The Young Lionesses had more of the ball but found it difficult to break down their opponents with Jessica Anderson and Vera Jones shooting high and wide from good positions.

It was a fairly comfortable opening ten minutes or so for Smith’s team, who only really had to deal with Giorgia Bianchi’s tame effort from distance in the defensive third.

Lauryn Thompson was afforded time and space to attack the hosts’ defence in the 19th minute, resultingly dragging her attempt wide before Switzerland had a chance of their own.

Sophie Jackson’s clearance fell the way of Pfister, who only had an empty net ahead of her to make it 1-0 against the run of play.

The Young Lionesses looked more ruthless when Jones tried her luck from the edge of the box.

But Switzerland continued to hold their own through a combination of composure in possession and dogged defending when required, meaning the hosts had the lead at the break.

It was important for the Young Lionesses not to fall a second goal behind after the restart, and they started the second half strongly when Lola Brown twice went close.

Then came a low effort from Bianchi on the hour, only for a Jackson save to keep the Young Lionesses in the game.

The England threat was realised when Anderson went close to levelling matters when the forward caught Yara Zwyssig out of position.

It could, and maybe should have been 1-1 late into the game when the Swiss keeper saved Chloe Hylton’s shot low down to her side, before Switzerland hit the Young Lionesses with a devastating counter at the other end.

Pfister, as she was in the opening 45 minutes, was in the right position to this time open up her body and curl an effort in against the woodwork.

And with that, the Young Lionesses’ opponents move on into the competition’s finals this summer.

England: 1 Sophie Jackson (Tottenham Hotspur), 3 Rachel Maltby (Aston Villa), 4 May Cruft (Rangers), 5 Zara Shaw (Liverpool), 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), 12 Vera Jones (Bristol City, on loan from Chelsea), 17 Jessica Anderson (Manchester United), 18 Sacha Lewis (Manchester City)

Substitutions: 11 Eva Hendle (Chelsea) for Shaw, 8 Chloe Hylton (Carolina Ascent) for Thompson 64’, 20 Sienna-Rose Wareing (Manchester United) for Cruft 79’

Substitutions not used: 13 Silvana Marshall Miranda (Brighton & Hove Albion), 2 Nelly Las (Ipswich Town, on loan from Leicester City), 15 Jessica Pegram (Rangers, on loan from Brighton & Hove Albion), 16 Niamh Peacock (Arsenal Academy, dual registration with Portsmouth), 19 Jhanaie Pierre (Tottenham Hotspur)

Head coach: Lauren Smith