Italy 1-3 England

UEFA Women's Under-19 Championship
Zentralsportpark Markkleeberg, Markkleeberg
Sunday 27th July 2003

England fired their way through the Group of Death and into the semi-finals of the U19 European Championships after a 3-1 victory over Italy.

The win saw England go top place in the group with six points from their first two games and other results meant they were the first team to qualify for the semi-finals.

Confident from their opening game victory over Sweden on Friday, England started well and were 2-0 up within 25 minutes after goals from Everton midfielder Kelly McDougall and Birmingham City striker Eniola Aluko.

In the last ten minutes of the first half, England were put on the back foot by Italy who managed to grab a goal back in first half injury time.

After the break, it took a while for England to settle into the game but they managed to hold onto their lead before once again taking control of the game.

As the game wore on, England went on the attack and had several shots on the Italian goal with Player of the Match Aluko looking lively. It was a long-range wonder strike again from captain Fara Williams who wrapped the game up in the 87th minute.

England's last Group A match against Germany will NOT now be broadcast live on Eurosport on Tuesday evening, as nothing will depend on the game. England have already qualified, while Germany - the hosts and defending champions - have already been knocked out after two defeats.

England face a semi-final tie this Friday, but will have to await the outcomes of the last group match day to see who they will face. This will be the second year running that they have reached the semi-final stage in the annual European finals; last season they lost 1-0 to Germany, who went on to win the tournament.

Italy: Chiara Marchitelli, Valeria Magrini, Valentina Lanzieri (c), Elisabetta Tona, Martina Cortesi, Giulia Donenichetti, Agnese Ricco, Elisa Camporese, Federica Margiotta, Raffaella Maniere, Serena Coppolino

Goals: Ricco 45

England: Karen Bardsley, Faye Cardin, Shelly Cox, Jo Traynor, Hayley Kemp (sub 56 Mins Beth Bailey), Anita Asante (sub 68 mins Emma Thomas), Jo Potter (sub 74 mins Michelle Evans), Fara Williams (c), Kelly McDougall, Katy Ward, Eniola Aluko.
Subs: Alex Scott, Carly Telford (GK), Georgie Adams, Beth Bailey, Michelle Evans, Sheuneen Ta, Emma Thomas

Goals: McDougall 20, Aluko 5, Williams 87

Booked: Shelly Cox, Anita Asante

Group A results
Italy 1-3 England
Sweden 2-1 Germany

Group B results
Norway 2-1 Netherlands
Spain 3-2 France

Related Items:
Under 19s Results