Spain 1-1 England
UEFA European U17 Championship
First Qualifying Round
8.30pm, Monday 27 October 2008
Campo los Cuartos, Tenerife, Spain
Click here for competition details
England have qualified for the Elite Qualifying Round of the UEFA European U17 Championship following a hard-fought 1-1 draw with Spain in Tenerife.
Jacob Walcott (pictured below) gave The Young Lions a tenth-minute lead, but an Ezekiel Fryers own goal after 80 minutes means England finish behind Spain in the First Round of Qualifiers. But they will be in the hat for the Elite draw on 3 December, despite being reduced to nine men.
Watford's Eddie Oshodi and Arsenal's Emmanuel Frimpong were sent off, both for collecting two yellow cards, and their absence resulted in England frantically defending their 1-0 lead for the final 15 minutes, and they were unlucky not to hold on.
Both sides began the match seeking all three points, with both producing open, attacking football. England enjoyed the majority of possession early on and Walcott's strike allowed them to seize the initiative.
However, Spain produced a more determined second-half performance and forced England to defend for large portions; their task was made easier when Oshodi was dismissed after 62 minutes. Frimpong's red card followed soon after, and though John Peacock's side defended resolutely, a Spanish equaliser seemed inevitable.
It came via the unfortunate Fryers with just ten minutes left. But the scoreline remained level until the final whistle and England can now look forward to December's Elite Qualifying Round draw in Nyon.
The Teams
Spain: 1 Kilian Falcon, 2 Albert Dalmau, 5 Adria Blanchart, 6 Jorge Resurreccion, 7 Manuel Reina (10 Francisco Roman, 46), 9 Borja Gonzalez (18 Ruben Sobrino, 57), 11 Adria Carmona (17 Pablo Sarabia, 46), 12 Albert Blazquez, 14 Roman Golobart, 15 Iker Muniain, 16 Alejandro Fernandez
Substitutes not used: 3 Samuel Reyes, 4 Jordi Amat, 8 Inigo Eguaras, 13 Ricardo Alonso
England: Jed Steer, James Hurst (Keanu Marsh-Brown, 82), Edward Oshodi, Tom Parkes, Jamie Reckord, Emmanuel Frimpong, Jack Wilshere, José Baxter, Jonjo Shelvey, Billy Knott (Ezekiel Fryers, 63), Jacob Walcott (John Bostock, 76)
Substitutes not used: Luke Freeman, Ryan Allsop, Liam Head