England has secured a spot in the quarterfinals of the UEFA Under-17 Championship after a decisive 3-1 victory over Spain at the Antonis Papadopoulos Stadium in Larnaca on Monday night.
The Three Lions took an early lead with a goal from Shumaira Mheuka, only to be equalized by Spain’s Adrian Arnucio midway through the first half. Mikey Moore restored England’s lead with his fourth goal in three games, and Ethan Nwaneri sealed the win in the final minutes. Spain’s Jesus Fortea was sent off late in the match for a second bookable offense.
Portugal also advanced to the quarterfinals as group winners, despite suffering their first defeat of the tournament against France at the Ammochostos Stadium. Enzo Sternal scored for France in the 36th minute, but Afonso Patrao quickly equalized for Portugal. A late winner from Enzo Molebe gave France the victory, but it wasn’t enough to surpass England on goal difference, resulting in France’s elimination.
In other matches, Italy came from behind to maintain their perfect record in the tournament with a 2-1 win over Sweden at the Tasos Markou Stadium in Paralimni. Italy, already qualified as Group C winners, fell behind to Fred Bozicevic’s goal but responded with goals from Cristian Cama and Francesco Camarda. Sweden’s defeat allowed Poland to claim second place in Group C and advance to the quarterfinals with a 4-0 victory over Slovakia, thanks to goals from Michael Izunwanne, Oskar Pietuszewski, and Stanislaw Gieroba.
The quarterfinal matchups are now set, with fixtures taking place on Wednesday and Thursday. The Czech Republic will face Denmark at the Ammochostos Stadium in Larnaca on Wednesday, followed by Austria versus Serbia at the AEK Arena. On Thursday, Italy will play against England, and Portugal will face Poland, with venues and kick-off times to be announced.
The semifinals are scheduled for Sunday, where the winner of the Czech Republic-Denmark match will play either Italy or England, and the winner of Austria-Serbia will face either Portugal or Poland. The final will be held at Limassol’s Alfamega Stadium on June 5.