England 1-0 France

The Montaigu Tournament
U16 International Friendly Tournament, Semi-Final
Saturday 7 April 2007
Montaigu, France

Kenny Swain's Young Lions have made it into the final of the Montaigu Tournament, with a defiant and composed 1-0 victory over the hosts France.

After topping Group D with a 3-0 win over Ireland and a draw with USA, England went into the Semi-Final with France looking to make it to the final on Bank Holiday Monday.

Showing terrific confidence in possession and attacking intent, England stretched France with their technical and physical ability and were ultimately rewarded when Watford forward Harry Forrester grabbed the winner with two minutes remaining.

Kenny Swain was delighted by every aspect of his squad's performance: "Firstly it is a very good result, but more than that the boys put in a top performance today that they can be very proud of.

"That is our third clean sheet in a row and that is a great sign of the concentration out there, and it shows that they are really putting into practise the tactics we have set out for them.

"It was a massive test to take on France but on this performance we have come out on top in every department. In the past you might say that we were technically inferior to them, but technically we were the best side today.

"We created chances and the boys played some great football. Best of all they showed great respect to France after the game, there is a spirit and a maturity in this squad and that is great to see."

England: 1 Wesley Foderingham, 2 Chris Solly, 4 Oliver Norwood, 5 Kyle Bartley, 6 Thomas Cruise, 7 Matthew James, 8 Dean Parrett, 9 Nathan Delfouneso (18 Harry Forrester 65), 12 Adam Phillip, 15 Nicholas Ajose
Subs Not Used: 13 Declan Rudd, 14 Adam Smith, 3 Ben Gordon, 10 John Bostock, 11 Andros Townsend, 16 Jacob Mellis, 17 Mitchell McPike

Goals: Forrester 78