Report: Netherlands 4-2 England MU19s

England men’s under-19s bowed out of UEFA U19 EURO 2025 at the group stage on a tough evening in Romania.

The Young Lions slipped to defeat against table-topping Netherlands, while elsewhere in the group, a late Germany win against Norway was enough to see the curtain close for England on a dramatic night in the Group B standings.

With five minutes to go and Germany and Norway drawing in their game, it looked as though Will Antwi's side might progress to the knockout stages until Germany's late goal saw them take second spot.

Much earlier in the proceedings, England were able to find their first glimpse of space within 12 minutes when Caleb Kporha drifted inside and sent a splitting pass in behind for Ethan Wheatley, whose shot was well saved.

But a confident Netherlands side, who secured their status as group winners earlier in the week, began to tick into a neat passing gear after the 20-minute mark. A well-worked short corner was finished off with a precise curling finish by Kees Smit from the edge of the area to give his side the lead.

The Dutch doubled their lead with a sweeping move from the right to the left wing which was converted by Zepiqueno Redmond.

Smit continued to be a fulcrum of the Netherlands’ dominating possession, and was central to the move that fell kindly in the box for Lucas Vennegoor Of Hesselink to pass in his side’s third before the half-time break.

After coming back from a four-goal deficit to draw against Germany on Tuesday, England restarted with few signs that their belief had begun to waver.

The second half saw another early chance, this time thumped home by Wheatley to ignite the belief of Antwi’s players that had seen them earn points from behind in the previous two group games.

Invigorated with purpose in their possession and application, England had a penalty claim denied in a flurry of fast-forward moves. In a reversal of the first half, it was England’s turn to assert control of the chances in possession.

The storm was weathered by the Dutch though, and they restored their three-goal lead against the run of play with a quick break from midfield finished off by Redmond with a thumping strike.

England continued to push to get back into the game. Jesse Derry’s introduction brought a testing dynamic to the Dutch backline, whilst Reiss Russell-Denny’s driving effort forced a series of good stops from Joeri Heerkens.

And Derry’s persistence paid off late into injury time, with a deflected shot bouncing past the Netherlands goalkeeper after the Crystal Palace youngster had cut in from the left.

England: 1 Tommy Setford (Arsenal); 12 Caleb Kporha (Crystal Palace), 5 Zach Abbott (Nottingham Forest) ©, 4 Stephen Mfuni (Manchester City), 15 Kadan Young (Royal Antwerp, loan from Aston Villa), 20 Jayden Meghoma (Brentford), 6 Kiano Dyer (Chelsea), 17 Tom Watson (Sunderland), 16 Reiss Russell-Denny (Tottenham Hotspur), 18 Shumaira Mheuka (Chelsea), 9 Ethan Wheatley (Manchester United)

Substitutes: 19 Jesse Derry (Crystal Palace) for Watson 77’, 8 Justin Oboavwoduo (Manchester City) for Wheatley 84’

Substitutes not used: 13 Finlay Herrick (West Ham United), 2 Triston Rowe (Aston Villa), 3 Joe Johnson (Luton Town), 7 Samuel Amo-Ameyaw (RC Strasbourg), 11 Mikey Moore (Tottenham Hotspur), 14 Harrison Murray-Campbell (Chelsea)

Goals: Wheatley 52’, Derry 90+3’

Head coach: Will Antwi