England Under-17 side finished the Croatia Cup in style with an 8-1 victory over Germany in their third game of the tournament.
Steve Cooper’s team beat Greece and the hosts Croatia last week but they saved their best performance for last. Manchester United’s Angel Gomes opened the scoring in the fourth minute, with Jadon Sancho of Manchester City doubling the advantage four minutes later.
Luca Schlax pulled one back for Germany but Sancho’s City team-mate Phil Foden added England’s third just before the half-hour mark. Chelsea’s George McEachran, the younger brother of the Brentford midfielder Josh, made it four two minutes later.
A Rhian Brewster double made it 6-1 at half-time and second-half goals from Chelsea’s Callum Hudson-Odoi and Reading’s Danny Loader completed the rout.
“We knew before we came that there would be some tough tests and it proved that way, so whether we won, lost or drew, the result was going to be us learning from the games,” Cooper said. “Fortunately on this occasion, the learning has come through some positive results and we have scored a few goals but equally pleasing is the fact we only conceded one goal.
“That’s good, because it’s only one part of the journey and it’s all about building blocks and getting ready for the next event and joining up the season as a whole – that’s what the Croatia Cup was always going to be about.”
England play Romania, Austria and Azerbaijan in European Championship qualifiers later this month.