England are on course for the quarter-finals of the UEFA U17 European Championship after a comfortable 4-0 victory over Ukraine.
First-half goals from George McEachran, Rhian Brewster and Jadon Sancho blew the Young Lions’ opponents away.
And substitute Aidan Barlow then capped his England debut with a well-struck effort just three minutes after entering the fray in the second half.
Having tormented Norway’s backline in their opening game, Manchester City forward Sancho was again a thorn in the side here and added a further two assists to his tournament tally.
England’s opener arrived in the 20th minute. Sancho couldn’t find his way through on the left but laid the ball back to McEachran who smashed home a low drive from just inside the area.
Liverpool striker Brewster then scored his third goal of the finals in the 32nd minute by getting on the end of a perfectly weighted Sancho cross from the left to head home from close range.
The provider turned scorer four minutes later. A neat one-two with Manchester City team-mate Phil Foden put Sancho in on goal and, after his initial effort had bounced back off the base of the left post, he made no mistake with the rebound.
Ukraine, who lost 1-0 to the Netherlands in their opening game, rallied at times after the break. In particular, Vladyslav Supriaha twice went close only to be denied by a Josef Bursik save and Timothy Eyoma’s goal line clearance.
Having replaced Tashan Oakley-Boothe moments earlier, Manchester United’s Barlow then ensured his first cap for the Young Lions was all the more special with a wonderful finish from 20 yards in the 69th minute.
Steve Cooper’s side will now be looking to finish top of Group D when they take on the Netherlands in Zapresic on Wednesday.
England: 1 Josef Bursik (AFC Wimbledon), 2 Timothy Eyoma (Tottenham Hotspur), 3 Lewis Gibson (Newcastle United), 4 George McEachran (Chelsea), 5 Marc Guehi (capt; Chelsea), 6 Jonathan Panzo (Chelsea), 7 Phil Foden (Manchester City), 8 Tashan Oakley-Boothe (Tottenham Hotspur), 9 Rhian Brewster (Liverpool), 10 Callum Hudson-Odoi (Chelsea), 11 Jadon Sancho (Manchester City).
Substitutes: 16 Daniel Loader (Reading) for Foden 59, 17 Aidan Barlow (Manchester United) for Oakley-Boothe 66. 18 Emile Smith-Rowe (Arsenal) for Sancho 74.
Substitutes not used: 12 Reo Griffiths (Tottenham Hotspur), 13 Curtis Anderson (Manchester City), 14 Jake Vokins (Southampton), 15 Alex Denny (Everton)
Goals: McEachran 20, Brewster 32, Sancho 36, Barlow 69
Head coach: Steve Cooper
