Netherlands laid down a marker in the European U17 Championship by beating defending champions Spain in Burton on Tuesday to top Group D.
The Dutch will now progress to the quarter-finals, while Spain have to beat Germany on Friday to keep their title defence hopes alive
Daishawn Redan’s early goal, his third of the tournament in only the second game, gave Netherlands the perfect start, and Spain only made their night worse with an own goal that doubled the deficit.
Belgium were also victorious on Tuesday night, firing four past Bosnia with no reply to top Group C and progress to the quarter-finals.
Yorbe Vertessen and Jamie Yayi Mpie gave the Belgians a confident start, before Bosnia put one in their own net and Gabriel Lemoine put the game to bed.
Ireland won the other game in Group C with a 1-0 triumph over Denmark thanks to Troy Parrott’s early strike, which means the Danes can no longer progress past the first stage and the Irish need only a draw against Bosnia on Friday.
Monday’s action saw Portugal storm to a 4-0 victory over Slovenia to eliminate them from the tournament, leaving the Portuguese needing only a draw with joint group leaders Norway to progress.
The Norwegians beat Sweden 2-1 in Burton thanks to a double from Thomas Rekdal after Fredrik Hammar had fired them ahead with a sweet volley.
Hosts England came from behind against Italy in Walsall, running out 2-1 victors after scoring twice in six second-half minutes.
While the other game in Group A saw Switzerland comfortably beat Israel 3-0, with Felix Mambimbi scoring twice to eliminate the Middle Eastern team from the tournament.
