West Ham United U18s Chinaza Nwosu and Andre Dike made their second appearances for Neil Ryan’s Young Lions as England U17s continued their UEFA U17 Euro Round 1 Group A qualifying campaign with another commanding 4-0 win, this time over Latvia.
Both played as England kicked-off Round 1 with a 4-0 win over Group A hosts Malta on Thursday, and were heavily involved again at the Centenary Stadium in Ta'Qali.
Nwosu was again selected to start, partnering Wolverhampton Wanderers’ Luke Rawlings in central midfield. Rawlings opened the scoring 17 minutes in with a sensational half-volley from the edge of the box, following sharp link-up play between Brighton & Hove Albion’s Harry Howell and Chelsea’s Lewi Richards down the right wing.
The chances kept coming England’s way, with Nwosu at the center of the action as the Young Lions doubled their lead. Expertly dispossessing Latvia captain Aleksejs Bukovskis, he drew in two defenders as he advanced toward the penalty area before laying the ball off to Tottenham Hotspur’s Luca Williams-Barnett, who finished precisely at the near post.
Just minutes later, Blackburn Rovers’ Igor Tyjon scored his second goal in consecutive internationals, tapping in his own rebound to make it 3-0. England sealed their win just before the hour mark, with Howell adding an impressive fourth. The Brighton forward took on two defenders and finished neatly for an excellent solo goal. Having assisted the first goal and scored the last, Howell then made way for Dike, who came on for the final 30 minutes on the right wing.
Both England and Sweden secured their places in Round 2 of qualifying with Sunday’s wins, each reaching six points with a game to spare. As the top two in Group 1, both teams will advance to another four-nation group in spring 2025, with the group winner booking a place in the U17 EURO finals in Albania next summer.
England and Sweden will now face off in their final group game in Ta'Qali on Wednesday, where Hammers players Nwosu, Dike, and goalkeeper Lanre Awesu will all aim to feature before returning to Chadwell Heath.
