England U19 squad return to action this Saturday, 14 November, for their second match of the second round of the UEFA U19 EURO 2027 qualifiers, with Belarus providing the opposition. Ben Futcher’s Young Lions return to Sportschule Lindabrunn for a 12pm GMT kick-off, having made a perfect start to this qualifying phase with a convincing 4-1 victory over Slovenia. Another win would put England in a strong position to finish in the top three of the group ahead of their final fixture against Austria.
The Young Lions looking to build on their emphatic win over Slovenia
England made an excellent start to the second round with a comprehensive 4-1 victory over Slovenia. Ben Futcher’s side made their intentions clear from the outset and eventually secured all three points thanks to a brace from Reigan Heskey, as well as goals from Harry Howell and an own goal from Blaz Kovac.
The Young Lions had seen Slovenia draw level after Heskey opened the scoring in the 34th minute. Florijan Meznar equalised just four minutes later, forcing England to step up their performance after the break. The visitors quickly restored their lead through Kovac’s own goal in the 49th minute before pulling away in the latter stages of the game.
England could have put the game beyond doubt earlier, but both Chizaram Ezenwata and Luca Williams-Barnett missed from the penalty spot. The Young Lions did not allow those missed opportunities to affect their performance, however. Introduced in the 72nd minute, Harry Howell made an immediate impact by scoring England’s third goal just six minutes after coming on, before Reigan Heskey completed his brace in the 85th minute following a pass from Reggie Walsh.
With three points and a strong goal difference, England moved to the top of Group A4 after the opening round of fixtures. The victory also underlined the strong form of several key players within this generation. Reigan Heskey was the standout performer with two goals, while Luca Williams-Barnett, Ryan McAidoo, Reggie Walsh, Kaden Braithwaite and Chizaram Ezenwata once again played important roles in Ben Futcher’s side.
The fixture against Belarus now takes on added importance. Having won their opening game, the Young Lions can take another step towards the third and final qualifying round with another victory. England finished second in their group during the first round in October, behind Spain, after recording wins over Bulgaria (4-1) and Croatia (2-0), alongside a 3-1 defeat to the Spanish.
England are now competing in League A and must finish in the top three of their group to keep their hopes of reaching the UEFA U19 EURO 2027 finals alive. The teams finishing bottom of each group will be eliminated, while the winners of the League B groups will be promoted to League A for the third round. Another victory would therefore put England in a very favourable position ahead of their final game against Austria.
Ben Futcher also retains a strong squad for this second fixture. The England head coach made just one change before the start of the international window, with Marli Salmon called up to replace the injured Malachi Hardy. The Arsenal defender featured in the victory over Slovenia and is expected to once again play an important role for the Young Lions.
The England U19 starting XI to face Belarus:
- Freddy Bernal (Chelsea)
- Landon Emenalo (Celtic, on loan from Chelsea)
- Kaden Braithwaite (Manchester City)
- Marli Salmon (Arsenal FC)
- Yuel Helafu (Manchester United)
- Louis Page (Leicester City)
- Reggie Walsh (Wigan Athletic, on loan from Chelsea)
- Reigan Heskey (1. FC Köln)
- Harry Howell (Leicester City, on loan from Brighton & Hove Albion)
- Luca Williams-Barnett (Tottenham Hotspur)
- Chizaram Ezenwata (Chelsea)
