Report: Apex College 0-3 England WU20s

England's preparations for the FIFA U20 Women's World Cup continued with a 3-0 victory over Apex College at US Soccer's new National Training Centre in Fayetteville, Georgia.

Playing in hot and humid conditions, the Young Lionesses were in control throughout the match as they continued to build towards September's tournament in Poland.

The visitors had to withstand some early pressure, with Apex College forcing two corners inside the opening five minutes, but England quickly settled into their rhythm.

Breaking the deadlock

They broke the deadlock after six minutes through Princess Ademiluyi. Clever combination play down the left side between Lola Brown and Eva Hendle created the opening, with Hendle's inviting cross cleverly flicked into the bottom corner by the Gotham FC forward.

Just two minutes later, England doubled their advantage. Left-back Chloe Sarwie delivered an excellent cross and Chloe B. Hylton rose highest to power a free header beyond the goalkeeper.

Confidence continued to grow as Ademiluyi held the ball up superbly before releasing Viv Lia, whose powerful effort flashed narrowly wide, while Rachel Maltby headed over from another dangerous Sarwie delivery following a well-worked free-kick routine.

England continued to dominate possession for the remainder of the first half, with Hendle's relentless pressing almost creating a third before goalkeeper Kaiya Jota was alert to snuff out Apex's best attacking opportunity.

Changes across the park at the break allowed more players valuable minutes, but England maintained their control. Sarwie was again at the heart of the action, producing an outstanding pass from inside her own half to send Jessie Gale through on goal, only for the forward's effort to drift narrowly wide after rounding the goalkeeper.

The contest was then interrupted by a lengthy delay after lightning was detected in the area, with play suspended for more than 30 minutes before resuming.

England continued to create chances following the restart, with Layla Drury firing over before Lily Dent tested the goalkeeper from the edge of the area. Gale was heavily involved again late on, holding the ball up brilliantly before releasing Hylton, whose pinpoint cross was met by Denny Draper, only for the goalkeeper to make a fine save.

Draper would not be denied for long, though. Four minutes from time, Gale won possession high up the pitch before squaring for the striker to calmly finish and seal a deserved 3-0 victory.

The Young Lionesses will wrap their USA camp up against Colombia on Wednesday (11:00 EST / 16:00 BST), with a final prep camp in Portugal scheduled for August. They will begin their World Cup campaign against Canada on Saturday 5 September (17:00 BST) in Bielsko-Biała in Poland.

England: Kaiya Jota (Stanford University), 2 Ria Bose (West Ham), 3 Chloe Sarwie (Chelsea), 4 May Cruft (Rangers), 5 Cecily Wellesley-Smith (Arsenal, on loan to FC Rosengård), 6 Rachel Maltby (Aston Villa), Vivienne Lia (Arsenal), 8 Chloe B. Hylton (Carolina Ascent), 9 Princess Ademiluyi (Gotham FC), 10 Lola Brown ©️ (Chelsea), 11 Eva Hendlele (Chelsea)

Substitutes: 23 Jessie Gale (Arsenal) for Ademiluyi 45, 16 Grace McEwen (Brighton & Hove Albion) for Wellesley-Smith 45, 15 Chloe Paxton (Sunderland) for Maltby 45, 12 Lucy Newell (Manchester United) for Sarwie 60, Vera Jones (Chelsea) for Brown 60, Lexi Potter (Chelsea) for Bose 60, Layla Drury (Manchester United) for Hendle 60, Lily Dent (Brighton & Hove Albion) for Lia 77, Denny Draper (Leicester City) for Cruft 77

Substitutes not used: 13 Katie Cox (Chelsea), 18 Laila Harbert (Arsenal), 22 Sophia Poor (London City Lionesses)

Head coach: Lydia Bedford

Goals: Princess Ademiluyi 6, Chloe B. Hylton 8, Denny Draper 86