England 2-0 Belgium

UEFA Under-17 Friendly Mini Tournament
Monday 30 October 2006
Eupen, Belgium

England Head Coach John Peacock singled out Danny Welbeck for praise after the Manchester United starlet scored his first ever England goal in the 2-0 win over Belgium on Monday night.

Young Welbeck, who impressed Peacock throughout the whole week, enjoyed his special moment in the 35th minute as England cruised to victory - a result which meant England finished second in the UEFA Mini Friendly Tournament behind Spain.

After England attacked the Belgium box, the ball fell invitingly for Welbeck who homed in on goal before foxing the keeper with a clever dummy and rolling home.

"He took his goal really well," said Peacock. "He has had a good week. He has intelligence and technically is proficient. He has done well. I was pleased with Krystian Pearce too. He stuck to his task really well and made important blocks and headers."

England doubled their advantage on 55 minutes with a goal that left Peacock purring. After good build-up in midfield, Henri Lansbury threaded a perfect ball through to Ashley Chambers who raced clear before beating the keeper.

"It was a super goal - it showed what we can do," said Peacock.

The victory meant England, captained on the night by Chelsea's Michael Woods (below), concluded their trip on a winning note, having lost to Spain and drawn with Portugal earlier in the competition. Peacock was a happy man but warned his side that improvements still need to be made if they want to challenge the best in the world.

"I was pleased with the result. We did not concede a goal and passed the ball well in spells, but at times there were too many unforced errors. We gave it away cheaply."

Peacock said he would be returning to England with a smile on his face and plenty of positives to consider before heading out to the Algarve in February.

"This has been a really good week in terms of the education and development of the players. It's been a good learning curve for them."

England: Amos (Manchester United), Ofori-Twumasi (Chelsea), Mattock (Leicester), Woods (Chelsea, Plummer, Bristol City, 65 mins), Barnett (Arsenal), Chambers (Leicester, Thomas, Arsenal, 77 mins), Murphy (Arsenal), Welbeck (Manchester United), Lansbury (Arsenal, Harvey, West Ham, 56 mins), Pearce (Birmingham City), Franks (Middlesbrough)
Subs: Steele (Middlesbrough), Eccleston (Liverpool), Darville (Leeds).

Goals: Welbeck 35, Chambers 55