Report: Morocco 1-3 England MU18s

England men’s under-18s ran out 3-1 winners over Morocco in their penultimate game of the 2024-25 campaign at the Moroccan national football centre, Complexe Mohammed VI de Football in Salé.

With six minutes played, the Young Lions took the lead through Jesse Derry. A flowing move down the right-hand side ended with Derry finding the back of the net with a tidy finish from the edge of the six-yard box after meeting Kian Noble’s cross.

Liam Bramley’s side doubled their lead with 41 minutes on the clock. Derry was on target once again, this time linking up with Andre Garcia. The latter’s cross from the byline picked out the Crystal Palace forward in the right place at the right time to make it 2-0.

Liverpool forward Josh Sonni-Lambie added a third in the second half, capping off an outstanding team goal.

On his MU18s bow, substitute Wes Okoduwa beat three opposition players with some excellent wing play with his through ball finding England debutant, Watford’s Amin Nabizada. Nabizada’s first-time cross was met Sonni-Lambie who finished superbly to all but seal victory for Bramley’s team.

There was time for one more goal, this time for the Atlas Lions who grabbed a consolation late in the day – the deflection leaving England keeper Oliver Whatmuff with no chance of making the stop – as it finished 3-1.

The Young Lions will wrap up the season with a second match-up against Morocco on Wednesday 28 May (6pm BST) when England look to make it two wins from as many outings in the international window.

England: 1 Oliver Whatmuff (Manchester City), 2 Kian Noble (Manchester City), 3 Andre Garcia (Reading), 4 Sol Sidibe (Stoke City), 5 Jaden Dixon (Stoke City), 6 Samuel Amissah (Fulham), 7 Harrison Armstrong (Everton), 8 Trey Nyoni (Liverpool), 9 Josh Sonni-Lambie (Liverpool), 10 Jesse Derry (Crystal Palace), 11 Amin Nabizada (Watford)

Substitutes: 14 Ollie Harrison (Chelsea) for Garcia 60', 17 Wes Okoduwa (Wolverhampton Wanderers) for Sidibe 60', 15 Andre Harriman-Annous (Arsenal) for Sonni-Lambie 75', 16 Nicholas Oyekunle (Southampton) for Derry 75', 18 Baylee Dipepa (Southampton) for Nabizada 75', 12 Airidas Golambeckis (West Ham United) for Noble 85', 19 Moses Sesay (Southampton) for Amissah 85'

Substitutes not used: 13 Jack Austin (Chelsea), 22 Khari Ranson (Arsenal)

Goals: Derry 6’ 41’, Sonni-Lambie 69’

Head coach: Liam Bramley