West Ham United U18s’ Chinaza Nwosu and Andre Dike helped England U17s begin their UEFA U17 Euro Qualification campaign in dominant fashion, securing a 4-0 victory over Malta.
Thursday morning's three-point haul puts the Young Lions top of Round 1 Group 1, with matches against Latvia and Sweden in Ta'Qali still to come, as they aim to secure a place in the elite qualifying round next spring.
England were in command from the outset on the Mediterranean island, with Neil Ryan’s Young Lions registering 27 attempts on goal compared to just three from their hosts.
Chelsea striker Chizaram Ezenwata opened the scoring early on 12 minutes and doubled his tally in the 53rd, putting England firmly in charge. Substitute Max Dowman of Arsenal, just 14 years old, then put the game beyond doubt shortly after with a curling left-footed effort from outside the box.
Blackburn Rovers’ Igor Tyjon added a fourth in stoppage time combining with Chelsea’s Landon Emenalo to finish off a sweet move for the visitors.
Nwosu played the full 90 minutes, registering an assist for England’s third, although Dowman still had plenty of work to do as he found the net with a spectacular finish, while Dike came on as a substitute for the final 15 minutes.
Both players, along with Hammers teammate, goalkeeper Lanre Awesu, will be looking to feature once again when England face Latvia at the same venue on Sunday in their next qualifier.
Sweden defeated Latvia 2-1 in the other matchday one fixture at the Centenary Stadium in Ta'Qali. England will face Sweden in their third tie on Wednesday 30 October.
The top two finishers will go through to Round 2 League A, where they will face another four-nation group in the spring of 2025. The winners of that will qualify for the finals in Albania next summer.
