England 3-1 France

U17 Algarve Tournament
Complexo Desportivo Arsénio Catuna, Guia
26 January 2005

John Peacock's England U17 side have got off to a wonderful start in the Algarve Tournament after registering a 3-1 lead against a talented French team in Guia.

First half goals from Middlesbrough's Seb Hines and Blackburn Rovers' Joe Garner gave the Young Lions a 2-0 lead before Southampton's Theo Walcott knocked in a third strike soon after the interval.

Hines, who is captaining the side, headed home a left-wing corner to open the scoring.

England, playing with real confidence, made it 2-0 when Walcott's skill saw him run into the penalty area where he crossed low from the byline for Garner (pictured above) to calmly finish from a few yards out.

England's third arrived after Walcott managed to get on the end of a hopeful long ball which had been missed by the French defence. With his first touch he drilled home a superb strike in to the top left corner, giving the 'keeper no chance.

Moments later France pulled themselves back into the game after the referee awarded them a penalty but England held on for the remainder of the match to start their campaign with a well-deserved victory.

After the match, coach Peacock caught up with TheFA.com: "I thought in the first half our forward play was exceptional. We really played well and in defence we were resolute - everything went according to plan.

"We worked hard this week so it was pleasing to see so many things go right. The first goal was something we worked on and that [move] caught them out a bit.

The performance of Theo Walcott (pictured above), with two assists and one goal, drew the attention of everyone watching the match, not least Peacock. "Theo did very well and his goal was superb. We'd put together a decent passing routine and his volley was excellent, it really was."

England 3-1 France: Match Details

England: David Button (Tottenham Hotspur), Scott Golbourne (Bristol City), Fabrice Muamba (Arsenal), Seb Hines (c) (Middlesbrough), James Tomkins (West Ham United), Theo Walcott (Southampton), Joe Garner (Blackburn Rovers) sub (Darryl Knights (Ipswich Town), Hogan Ephraim (West Ham Utd)
Jordan Holmes (Liverpool), Mark Davies (Wolverhampton W) sub Lewis McGugan (Nottingham Forest), Myles Weston (Charlton Athletic) sub Scott Phelan (Everton)
Subs not used: Zac Jones (Blackburn Rovers), Chris Riley (Tottenham Hotspur), Andrew Gooding (Coventry City), Elliott Omozusi (Fulham)

England Goals: Hines 12, Garner 33, Walcott 47

France Goals: Lepiller 52