Mason Mount scores twice as England Under-18s beat Italy

Mount scored either side of the break to earn the Young Lions their victory, after a strike from Matteo Gabbia looked like it had earned the Azzurrini a draw at Highbury Stadium in Fleetwood.

And while Chelsea midfielder Mount was a deserved recipient of the man-of-the-match award, Dewsnip paid tribute to the overall team performance. 

"It was my first time with this team and it was a great run out for us," he said. 

"We looked particularly dangerous in the first half and although we weren't as good in the second, we showed great spirit and character to score again after Italy equalised and I couldn't have asked for a better response because it showed a lot of maturity from the lads.

"There were some good performances all over the park. Mason Mount deserved his man of the match award with his two goals but there were others who impressed as well. 

"The front three of Reiss Nelson, Niall Ennis and Jonathan Leko all worked hard and caused problems for the Italian defence and I thought our central defenders were excellent too. The fact they were so disappointed and upset to concede a goal shows a lot about their characters and it was good to see."

England Under-18s line-up to face Italy in Fleetwood

Mount broke the deadlock in the 37th minute direct from a free-kick. With the Italians expecting a cross from the left hand side, Mount went straight for goal and caught out goalkeeper Stefano Greco at his near post.

England then went close to adding a second on the stroke of half time but Greco denied Arsenal forward Nelson with a smart save. 

But after a quiet first period, the second half was a much more open affair, as Mount wasted a glorious chance to double England's advantage and after the hour Italy stepped up a gear. 

Davide Fratessi’s shot was superbly blocked by England captain Morgan Feeney and striker Gabriele Gori went close before the visitors forced an equaliser on 68 minutes.

Substitute Christian Capone’s cross evaded everyone before falling to Gabbia who fired past Jared Thompson. 

The game then swung from end-to-end with Nelson hitting the crossbar before Mount scored again on 73 minutes after a mazy run into the box ended with a perfectly-placed finish to secure the win. 

"All in all, it was a pleasing performance against a good Italy side who were very competitive and played some good stuff," added Dewsnip. 

Fulham midfielder Dennis Adeniran in action against Italy

"It was my first time with this team and they did what I asked of them. They looked to switch play quickly and did it well, particularly in the first half and I'm delighted with the win.

"It was a great way to start and hopefully we can build on that."

England Under-18s: 1 Jared Thompson (Chelsea); 2 Jordan Williams (Huddersfield Town), 5 Morgan Feeney (Everton) (c), 6 Ahogrenashinme Kigbu (Manchester City), 3 Tolaji Bola (Arsenal); 8 Dennis Adeniran (Fulham), 4 Sadou Diallo (Manchester City); 7 Jonathan Leko (West Bromwich Albion), 10 Mason Mount (Chelsea),11 Reiss Nelson (Arsenal); 9 Niall Ennis (Wolverhampton Wanderers)

Substitutes: 14 Marcus McGuane (Arsenal) for Adeniran 60, 16 Andre Dozzell (Ipswich Town) for Diallo 60, 17 Ben Morris (Ipswich Town) for Leko 80, 18 George Hirst (Sheffield Wednesday) for Ennis 80, 12 Jaden Brown (Tottenham Hotspur) for Nelson 89.

Substitutes not used: 13 Ryan Sandford (Millwall), 15 Jonathan Dinzeyi (Tottenham Hotspur)

Head Coach: Neil Dewsnip

Goals: Mason Mount 37, 73