Izzy Brown's stoppage-time strike secures England win

England Under-19s secured their spot in the semi-finals of the European Championship and next year’s U20 World Cup after a dramatic late win over the Netherlands.

A stoppage-time strike from Chelsea forward Izzy Brown, who spent last season on loan with Dutch outfit Vittesse Arnhem, ensured Aidy Boothroyd’s side made it two wins from two games in their group, after a hard-fought 2-1 victory in Ulm.

And that means the Young Lions go into Monday’s final group match with Croatia knowing that they are already in Europe's last four and qualified for a trip to South Korea in 2017.

It had looked as though both teams were going to settle for a point apiece, after Brown’s Chelsea team-mate Dominic Solanke had cancelled out Sam Lammers’ early opener in the first half.

But Boothroyd’s side were rewarded for their attacking intent when substitute Brown’s fine left-footed finish won the game with seconds to spare, and achieve Boothroyd’s first target of World Cup qualification.

The game didn’t start quite so well for England though, as after making a good start during their win over France on Tuesday, the shoe was on the other foot this time. 

There was only ten minutes on the clock when Dutch striker Lammers couldn’t believe his luck, as a defensive clearance was diverted into his path, allowing him to fire home from inside the area and put the Oranje ahead.

England responded immediately though as Ademola Lookman beat Julian Lelieveld to put a cross into the area, which was only half-cleared to Jordan Rossiter. The Rangers man picked his spot, but saw his eventual shot blocked in front of goal.

The England Under-19s starting line-up to face the Netherlands in Ulm

Ainsley Maitland-Niles then played a ball in behind the Dutch defence for Tammy Abraham, whose header drifted just wide of the post, before the same player produced another cross to set up Solanke, with another former Vitesse Arnhem loanee guiding his header wide in the 24th minute.

But just over ten minutes later, Solanke found his range by firing home a deserved equaliser after collecting a cross from Maitland-Niles and turning exquisitely before shooting past Yanick van Osch.

There was an anxious moment for England just before the break, when defender Hidde ter Avest tried an audacious shot from inside his own half but with Freddie Woodman racing back, there was relief to see the ball land on the roof of the net.

After such an entertaining first half, it took a little longer to get going following the break as both teams enjoyed possession without ever really threatening.

England U19s captain Taylor Moore towers over Dutch striker Sam Lammers to win a header

But England did finish the game the stronger of the two sides, with substitute Sheyi Ojo and Abraham forcing van Osch into saves in the last ten minutes before Brown saved his best for last to win the match in the 92nd minute.

England Under-19s: 1 Freddie Woodman (Newcastle United); 16 Reece Oxford (West Ham United), 5 Taylor Moore (RC Lens) (c), 15 Fikayo Tomori (Chelsea), 12 Kyle Walker-Peters (Tottenham Hotspur); 4 Jordan Rossiter (Glasgow Rangers); 8 Josh Onomah (Tottenham Hotspur), 18 Ainsley Maitland-Niles (Arsenal); 7 Tammy Abraham (Chelsea), 9 Dominic Solanke (Chelsea), 17 Ademola Lookman (Charlton Athletic).

Substitutes: 10 Sheyi Ojo (Liverpool) for Solanke 62, 11 Isaiah Brown (Chelsea) for Lookman 75

Substitutes not used: 2 Jonjoe Kenny (Everton), 3 Callum Connolly (Everton), 6 Dael Fry (Middlesbrough), 13 Sam Howes (West Ham United), 14 Ryan Ledson (Everton) 

Head coach: Aidy Boothroyd

Goals: Solanke 36, Brown 90+2

Netherlands: 1 Yanick van Osch; 12 Julian Lelieveld, 3 Pablo Rasario, 4 Hidde ter Avest, 5 Calvin Verdonk; 10 Jari Schuurman, 6 Laros Duarte, 8 Abdelhak Nouri (c); 7 Steven Bergwijn, 9 Sam Lammers, 11 Kenneth Paal.

Substitutes: 17 Dennis Van Der Heijden for Lammers 83, 15 Gino Dekker for Paal 90

Substitutes not used: 16 Maarten Paes, 13 Jurich Carolina, 14 Carel Eiting, 18 Michel Vlap

Head coach: Aron Winter

Goals: Lammers 10

Cautions: Lelieveld 59

Attendance: 3928