Report: England WU19s 2-1 Turkiye

Written by:

Nicholas Veevers

Goals from Michelle Agyemang and Ava Baker seal three points for the Young Lionesses in Nysa, Poland

EURO 2025: REGISTER NOW

England women’s under-19s kicked-off their UEFA Women’s U19 EURO campaign in dramatic fashion after a second-half comeback sealed a 2-1 win over Turkiye.

Lauren Smith’s Young Lionesses are in Poland for their three first round group games, and an eventful opening match saw them secure a deserved win.

They had to show their character too, after a tough first half which saw Michelle Agyemang have a penalty saved by Turkish ‘keeper Defne Sanoglu just after the half-hour mark.

Moments later, Turkiye took the lead through Sara Temel’s free-kick to give them an unlikely advantage at the break.

But five minutes after the restart, England drew level when Agyemang equalised after half-time substitute Ava Baker set her up.

Lexi Potter looks to take control in midfield as the Young Lionesses face Turkiye in Poland

And the Young Lionesses continued to press in their search for a winner with Turkiye hanging on under pressure at times as England clocked up 30 attempts at goal over the course of the game.

The breakthrough eventually came in the 89th minute, when Baker lined up a shot from the edge of the box before firing it into the top corner to help get the EURO campaign up and running.

England are next in action on Saturday when they face Italy in their second game (12pm GMT).

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) (c ), 18 Simone Sherwood (Leicester City), 19 Chloe Hylton (Carolina Ascent), 10 Maddy Earl (Arsenal on loan to Bristol City), 14 Ruby-Rae Tucker (Aston Villa), 11 Vivienne Lia (Arsenal), 9 Michelle Agyemang (Arsenal on loan to Brighton & Hove Albion).

Substitutes: 20 Jessie Gale (Arsenal dual registered with Watford) for Lia 46, 7 Ava Baker (Birmingham City) for Tucker 46, 16 Princess Ademiluyi (West Ham on loan to Charlton Athletic) for Agyemang 62, 8 Lily Dent (Brighton & Hove Albion on loan to Portsmouth) for Earl 62, 12 Sophie Harwood (Arsenal) for Dennis 73

Substitutes not used: 6 Issy Hobson (Everton), 13 Eve Annets (Manchester City on loan to Portsmouth), 15 Codie Thomas (Manchester City), , 17 Lily Murphy (Manchester City),

Head coach: Lauren Smith

Goals: Michelle Agyemang 55, Ava Baker 89