Report: England MU19s 2-2 Norway

England men's under-19s fought back to earn a point in their opening match of the U19 UEFA EURO Finals in Romania.

It looked as though Will Antwi’s side were going to be denied by a stubborn and technically gifted Norwegian team until a late second half penalty saw them draw level at the Ilie Oana Stadium in Ploiesti.

After taking an early lead, England had been pegged back by the Norwegians before falling behind. But as the minutes ticked down, it was their captain who restored parity.

Mikey Moore stepped up to take the spot kick with just ten minutes remaining and made no mistake. The Spurs youngster smashed the ball past Norway keeper Daniel Saetren to help deliver a priceless Group B point.

With Germany and the Netherlands lying in wait in the remaining matches, it was no more than England deserved.

England dominated possession throughout and carried a real attacking threat, with Moore and his midfield team-mates constantly probing the Norwegian defence.

The game had started in breathless fashion in the Romanian sun as the 2022 U19 European champions came up against a Norwegian side that had gone unbeaten throughout their qualifying campaign unbeaten.

After the initial exchanges, the game sparked into life on 11 minutes as an adventurous run from Aston Villa’s Kaden Young ended with a precise pass into Tom Watson.

The striker, who has been snapped up by Brighton and Hove Albion this summer, hit a deflected shot which left Norway keeper Daniel Saetren stranded.

It was the perfect start for England and an extension of a golden goalscoring run for Watson who had scored the winner for Sunderland in their play-off final against Sheffield United at Wembley last month.

England came close to doubling their lead shortly after, with Shumaira Mheuka hitting the bar with a powerful header.

Norway, though, looked dangerous on the break despite England’s dominance in possession.

And after picking the ball up just inside England’s half, a mazy run by Hamburg SV starlet Alexander Rossing-Lelesiit pulled Norway level on 18 minutes. He skipped elegantly past a couple of challenges before firing past Tommy Setford in the England goal from an acute angle.

The chances continued to come for both sides, with Young striking the woodwork for England a second time following a pass from the enterprising Mikey Moore.

As the first half clock ticked down, Sondre Granaas then grazed the bar before helping to deliver a sucker punch to England as stoppage time approached.

An intelligent pass from Rossing-Lelesiit found Granaas in the penalty area. And he made no mistake, crashing the ball past Setford to put the Norwegians into the lead.

It took the second half some time to live up to the promise of the first, although Watson and Mheuka both went close.

Ethan Wheatley also looked a threat after coming off the bench as both sides battled for a winner.

Norway again came close in the dying seconds of normal time as Jesper Reitan-Sunde poked the ball just wide and i proved to be the final chance.

England: 1 Tommy Setford (Arsenal), 2 Triston Rowe (Aston Villa), 4 Stephen Mfuni (Manchester City),14 Harrison Murray-Campbell (Chelsea), 20 Jayden Meghoma (Brentford), 15 Kadan Young (Royal Antwerp, loan from Aston Villa), 6 Kiano Dyer (Chelsea), 10 Josh King (Fulham), 11 Mikey Moore (Tottenham Hotspur), 18 Shumaira Mheuka (Chelsea), 17 Tom Watson (Sunderland)

Substitutes: 7 Samuel Amo-Ameyaw (RC Strasbourg) for Young 46’, 19 Jesse Derry (Crystal Palace) for Watson 75’, 3 Joe Johnson (Luton Town) for Meghoma 87’,12 Caleb Kporha (Crystal Palace), for Rowe 46’, 9 Ethan Wheatley (Manchester United) for King 82’

Substitutes not used: 13 Finlay Herrick (West Ham United), 16 Reiss Russell-Denny (Tottenham Hotspur)

Goals: Watson 11’ Moore 80’

Head coach: Will Antwi