West Ham United’s Kaelan Casey and George Earthy both started for Paul Nevin and Kevin Nolan’s England Elite Squad as they secured a 2-1 comeback victory against Italy in the U20 Elite League at the Stadio Benito Stirpe in Frosinone.
The win moves the Young Lions to the top of the eight-nation league with seven points from three games, pending the outcome of Germany’s match against Poland tomorrow afternoon.
Nevin and Nolan, both former Hammers coaches, entrusted Casey and Earthy with starting roles, Casey making his third start, and Earthy his second for the Elite Squad, formerly known as England U20s.
Although the centre-back pairing of Casey and Stoke City's Ashley Phillips, on loan from Tottenham Hotspur, did well to restrict Italy’s attacking opportunities, the defence was breached late in the first half. Bologna’s Tommaso Ebone latched onto an excellent diagonal cross from Udinese’s Simone Pafundi, heading the ball into the ground and past England goalkeeper Tommy Simkin.
In the second half, England gained the upper hand, dominating possession and forcing Italy to defend deep. The compact Italian defence funneled much of England’s play down the wings, giving Earthy plenty of action on the left flank. However, the equaliser came from a central position when Plymouth Argyle’s Darko Gyabi unleashed a long-range strike to bring England level on 59 minutes.
Shortly after, Casey and Simkin combined crucially just after the hour mark to keep Italy from retaking the lead. Simkin made the initial save, and Casey did excellently to follow up and clear the ball off the line, denying Italy their second.
Earthy came close to giving England the lead himself after creating space inside the box, but his shot was saved by AC Milan’s Lorenzo Torriani. It would be his final contribution before he was replaced by Norwich City's Kalde Gordon.
England’s persistence paid off with a stoppage-time winner. Simkin launched the attack with an excellent long ball to Dominic Ballard on the left. In a two-on-two situation, the Blackpool winger, on loan from Southampton, squared it to fellow substitute Max Dean who made no mistake in slotting home to complete the comeback on his debut.
Casey and Earthy will be back in action on Monday when England hosts Czechia at the Eco-Power Stadium in Doncaster in their next U20 Elite League fixture.
