Young Chelsea players lead England’s offense, fall short in Euro U19

Following a string of strong performances in the group stages, the England U19 side were eliminated by an organized and resolute Italy team in the semifinals of U19 Euro tournament.

Chelsea youngsters Isaiah Brown, Dominic Solanke, Fikayo Tomori and Tammy Abraham were all involved from the start. Although England started well, they were undone by an organized Italian side who are yet to score from open play in the tournament.

Fikayo Tomori conceded a penalty as he tried to recover from a lapse in concentration. Italy’s Federico Dimarco converted from the spot, putting Italy firmly in charge. England looked listless following the goal and failed to create or penetrate through Italy’s two banks of four.

England came out looking sharper and more creative in the second half and started to move the ball around quickly and with purpose. Chelsea’s Isaiah Brown and Dominic Solanke played deep to initiate quick passing moves in the final third. Tottenham Hotspurs’ Joshua Onomah and Arsenal’s midfielder Ashley Maitland-Niles were the young Blues’ targets, but they lacked the final ball.

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After some stout defending, Italy broke on the counter and were undeservedly awarded a foul just outside the box. Reece Oxford rushed out to block a shot and the ball hit him on the arm. Most nights, the referee waves off this kind of inadvertent contact. This time, though, the referee awarded the foul and booked Oxford to boot. Once again, Federico Dimarco curled in with his left foot and double Italy’s lead.

England sustained pressure on Italy as they attempted to get back in the match. Sheyi Ojo replaced Tammy Abraham at the hour mark, and provided England a direct running threat. Unfortunately the Young Lions were unable to fashion anything of note.

As the match wore on, England’s chances of a comeback looked bleaker by the minute. Brown found himself free in the box but wasted the chance to spark a fightback. In the 85th minute, England were gifted a chance to force extra time after an Italian player accidentally turned in a Sheyi Ojo corner. In the end, it was only a consolation goal.

As is characteristic of an England team, this group of youngsters struggled when faced with a tough nut to crack. Italy’s quintessentially tight defense exposed England’s inability to adjust tactics against resistance. Italy controlled their goal area throughout the game. Fighting from behind in the second half, England played their forwards deep but did not crowd enough players in the Italian box to create scoring opportunities.

England’s Young Lions’ performances in the group stages deserve some plaudits. Solanke and Brown scored two goals each during the group stages and were key figures in the England team. Brown, who was dropped after an unmotivated showing in the first match vs France, came on as a substitute to score against Netherlands. He followed that up with a great performance in the final group stage match against Croatia.

Although Dominic Solanke cut an isolated and frustrated figure at times, his work rate never dipped and he took his chances well. Tammy Abraham failed to impress from a wider area and was uncharacteristically wasteful in front of goal. Despite his error that led to Italy’s opener in the semifinal, Canadian international Fikayo Tomori put in solid shifts at the back.

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All four youngsters will return to Chelsea and will probably be off on loan assignments soon. However, Antonio Conte mentioned Solanke and Abraham, so they may join the first team in the United States leg of Chelsea’s pre-season tour . Despite their elimination in the semifinal, this is a very talented group of England youngsters who will hope to do one better in the U20 FIFA World Cup next year.