Report: Croatia 1-5 England MU17s – England Football

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Written by:
Frank Smith
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England men’s under-17s rounded off the first round of U17 EURO qualification in style with a 5-1 win over hosts Croatia.
Greg Lincoln’s side had already booked their place in March’s elite round of qualification for the UEFA European Under-17 Championship next summer with an 8-0 win over the Faroe Islands and 5-0 victory against Kosovo.
And the MU17s continued their 100 per cent record on Thursday thanks to a Mikey Moore hat-trick and goals by Shumaira Mheuka and Jesse Derry.
Preparations will now start for March’s elite round which will determine the 15 teams who will join hosts Cyprus at the UEFA U17 EURO finals next summer.
Mheuka and Jack Fletcher both had chances inside the opening five minutes against Croatia before the hosts forced England goalkeeper Thorsten Spike Brits into a save.
The Young Lions took the lead after a quarter of an hour when full-back Christian McFarlane had a shot from an acute angle stopped and Moore was there to volley home the rebound.
Brits needed to make a couple more saves before half-time, but England doubled their advantage on the half-hour mark when Mheuka turned beautifully in the box and drilled home a left-footed shot.
Mislav Čutuk pulled a goal back for Croatia early in the second half but the Young Lions won a penalty immediately afterwards. Although Moore’s initial spot-kick was saved, the Tottenham Hotspur youngster followed up with the rebound.
The lead was then extended to three when great play down the left by McFarlane and Moore ended with Josh King having a shot saved and Derry was there to score the rebound.
Moore then completed his hat-trick with 11 minutes remaining when he applied the finish from King’s cross from the byline.
England: 1 Thorsten Spike Brits (Manchester City), 3 Christian McFarlane (New York City), 4 Joshua King (Fulham), 5 Stephen Mfuni (Manchester City), 6 Kian Noble (Manchester City) ©, 7 Jesse Derry (Crystal Palace), 8 Jack Fletcher (Manchester United), 9 Shumaira Mheuka (Chelsea), 10 Mikey Moore (Tottenham Hotspur), 12 Leke Drake (Manchester City), 19 Ollie Harrison (Chelsea)
Substitutes: 14 Luca Fletcher (Manchester City) for Mheuka 71, 20 Divine Mukasa (Manchester City) for Derry 71, 16 Finlay Cartwright (Middlesbrough) for King 83, 15 Jay Robinson (Southampton) for Moore 83, 17 Christian Dunbar-McDonald (Manchester City) for Fletcher 88
Substitutes not used: 13 Douglass Lukjanciks (Everton), 2 Leo Shahar (Newcastle United), 11 Callum Olusesi (Tottenham Hotspur), 18 Harry Amass (Manchester United)
Head coach: Greg Lincoln
Goals: Mikey Moore 15, 54, 79, Shumaira Mheuka 30, Jesse Derry 69
Bookings: Jack Fletcher 15, Kian Noble 84
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