Report: England MU19s 3-3 Spain

England men’s under-19s played out an entertaining 3-3 draw with Spain in their second outing of the season.

Minutes after the Young Lions went close to taking the lead – with Spanish stopper Manuel Gonzalez Pallares getting fingertips to Chris Rigg’s first-time effort from the edge of the box – the hosts broke the deadlock.

Sergio Esteban chased down Douglass Lukjanciks’s clearance, with the ball ricochetting off the Real Madrid youngster and into the back of the net with ten minutes played.

Will Antwi’s side pushed for the equaliser, with Josh King’s strike cleared off the line by the La Rojita defence, before Shumaira Mheuka got England back on terms with around 20 minutes on the watch.

After winning back possession in their own half, the Young Lions hit their opponents on the counter-attack. Jay Robinson went on a mazy run, twisting and turning before finding Mheuka who took aim from inside the area, picking out the bottom corner.

Spain went ahead once again with around ten minutes remaining of the first half after Andres Antanon rippled the net from outside the area.

The Young Lions had a flurry of chances before the half-time whistle signalled the interval. Max Dowman’s shot was blocked, Robinson saw his strike well-saved and Rigg, who was first to the rebound, fired just over the bar, but the hosts had the advantage at the break.

Five minutes into the second period, parity was restored. England were awarded a penalty after Dowman was tripped inside area and first-half scorer Mheuka stepped up to double his tally from the spot, sending the keeper the wrong way.

England midfielder King struck up the upright later in the half. With two red shirts bearing down on him, the teenager was inches away from putting the Young Lions in front for the first time in the game.

In the 80th minute, the referee pointed to the spot once again, this time awarding Spain a penalty which was dispatched by Adrian Arnuncio as La Rojita re-established their lead.

But the Young Lions came from behind to equalise for a third time. Substitute Harrison Armstrong, who assumed the captain’s armband after coming on in the second half, made the scoresheet late in the day, tapping in Rio Ngumoha’s cross from close range to make it 3-3 which was how it finished at the Pinatar Arena.

The MU19s will round off the September international camp with a game against the Netherlands on Tuesday 9 September (11.30am BST kick-off).

England: 1 Douglass Lukjanciks (Everton), 2 Leo Shahar (Newcastle United), 3 Christian McFarlane (Manchester City), 4 Trey Nyoni (Liverpool), 5 Airidas Golambeckis (West Ham United), 6 Stephen Mfuni (Manchester City), 7 Max Dowman (Arsenal), 8 Chris Rigg (Sunderland), 9 Shumaira Mheuka (Chelsea), 10 Joshua King (Fulham), 11 Jay Robinson (Southampton)

Substitutes: 12 Jaden Dixon (Stoke City) for McFarlane 69’, 14 Callum Olusesi (Tottenham Hotspur) for Robinson 69’, 15 Kian Noble (Manchester City) for Shahar 69’, 16 Samuel Amissah (Fulham) for Golambeckis 69’, 17 Jeremy Monga (Leicester City) for Mheuka 69’, 18 Sol Sidibe (PSV Eindhoven) for Nyoni 69’, 19 Harrison Armstrong (Preston North End, on loan from Everton) for King 69’, 20 Divine Mukasa (Manchester City) for Rigg 69’, 21 Rio Ngumoha (Liverpool) for Dowman 69’

Substitutes not used: 13 Jack Porter (Arsenal), 22 Nicolas Michalski (Blackburn Rovers)

Head coach: Will Antwi

Goals: Mheuka 21’ 50’, Armstrong 87’