Report: England WU19s 0-1 Poland

Written by:

Holly Hunt

The Young Lionesses were beaten in their final game of 2024

PLAY WOMEN'S AND GIRLS' FOOTBALL

England women’s under-19s were beaten by Poland in their qualifying fixture for the 2025 UEFA Women’s Under-19 Championship.

The Young Lionesses were buoyed by back-to-back victories over Turkiye and Italy coming into their third and final game of the window against Poland – the host nation for the tournament next summer.

However, Lauren Smith’s side narrowly missed out on making it three wins in as many outings after losing 1-0 in Brzeg to wrap up the calendar year.

The hosts took the lead with 15 minutes on the clock as Poland’s Zuzanna Grzywinska fired Marcin Kasprowicz’s side in front and it proved to be the only goal of the game and the winner for the home team.

Despite falling behind early in the contest, the Young Lionesses reached the interval trailing Poland by a single goal, with 45 minutes to get back into the game once play resumed.

The Young Lionesses fashioned a number of openings at both sides of the break but were unable to find a way through before the full-time whistle sounded.

The result means the WU19s have qualified for Round 2 of the tournament, with the draw set to take place at 10:30 CET on Friday 6 December. Full details can be found here.

England: 1 Katie Cox (Chelsea), 2 Araya Dennis (Tottenham Hotspur), 3 Mari Ward (Bristol City), 4 Lexi Potter (Chelsea on loan to Crystal Palace), 5 Lucy Newell (Manchester United), 6 Issy Hobson (Everton), 7 Ava Baker (Birmingham City), 8 Lily Dent (Brighton & Hove Albion on loan to Portsmouth), 9 Michelle Agyemang (Arsenal on loan to Brighton & Hove Albion), 10 Maddy Earl (Arsenal on loan to Bristol City), 20 Jessie Gale (Arsenal dual registered with Watford)

Substitutes: 11 Vivienne Lia (Arsenal) for 20 Gale 46, 12 Sophie Harwood (Arsenal) for 2 Dennis 60, 16 Princess Ademiluyi (West Ham on loan to Charlton Athletic) for 7 Baker 69, 17 Lily Murphy (Manchester City) for 10 Earl 85

Substitutes not used: 13 Eve Annets (Manchester City on loan to Portsmouth), 14 Ruby-Rae Tucker (Aston Villa), 15 Codie Thomas (Manchester City), 18 Simone Sherwood (Leicester City), 19 Chloe Hylton (Carolina Ascent)

Head coach: Lauren Smith