England U17s 6-0 Republic of Ireland
UEFA European U17 Championship
First Qualifying Round
11am (GMT), Tuesday 29 October
Yerevan Republican Stadium
By Gary Stonehouse in Armenia
England hotshot Adam Armstrong “couldn’t be happier” with his week's work in Armenia with the U17s squad.
The Newcastle United striker added to his Euro qualifying tally with another brace as John Peacock's side beat Republic of Ireland, taking him to six goals in three games - an impressive record by any standards.
He told TheFA.com: “I’m really pleased to have got six goals, especially in just three games. What else can you ask for than to score for your country?”
Armstrong showed all the characteristics of another famous Newcastle and Three Lions striker Alan Shearer to grab the second goal against Ireland.
The 16-year-old pounced on a loose ball and showed great composure to put past the Irish keeper, then early in the second half he reacted quickest to stab the ball over the line for England’s third.
On his first goal, he said: “I just saw Patrick Roberts was dribbling, so I made sure that I got round him and see where the ball ended up. Luckily the ball fell loose and ended up just where I wanted it and I nipped in and scored.”
It was another of the forward’s strikes which has taken most of the attention, however, and that came on Saturday afternoon as he thundered in the opener from 30 yards against Gibraltar.
“That first one against Gibraltar, I picked up the ball and just thought that no one had been shooting.
“I thought I would just have a pop and luckily it went it and I was really pleased with it.”
As a striker goals are an important part of the game, but the performances of his team-mates throughout the first qualifying round have also impressed Armstrong.
“The squad are really pleased. It is a really strong group of players, and looking through the team you have got great lads who are the best around at this age," he said.
“It is an honour to be involved and it doesn’t get better than. It is a different lifestyle to ours in Armenia but it has been a great experience to come here.
“The facilities we have been in have been really good. A lot better than I expected, and our training centre has been fantastic and really nice. We could not have asked for anything more.”
Armstrong is not one to get carried away, though, and like any good striker he is already searching for his next goal.
“I just need to keep plugging away for my club now, keep trying to score and impress there, then when it comes to the elites I’ll have hopefully done enough to get picked – and score more goals!”
England: 1 Dean Henderson, 2 Jonjoe Kenny, 3 Max Lowe, 4 Ryan Ledson, 5 Joe Gomez, 6 Tom Brewitt (18 Isaac Christie Davies 58 mins), 7 Patrick Roberts, 8 Jordan Rossiter, 9 Issy Brown, 16 Adam Armstrong (11 Oluwaseyi Ojo 48 mins), 17 Dominic Solanke (15 Callum Cooke 58 mins)
Subs not used: 10 Joshua Onomah, 12 Mandela Egbo, 13 Ryan Huddart, 14 Cameron Borthwick-Jackson,
Head Coach: John Peacock
Bookings: Issy Brown 67 mins
Goals: Issy Brown 18 and 52 mins, Adam Armstrong 38 and 43 mins, Patrick Roberts 57 mins, Ryan Ledson 80 mins
Republic of Ireland: 1 James Talbot, 3 Anthony Breslin, 4 Dan Casey, 6 Georgie Poynton, 7 Shane Elworthy, 8 Robert Duggan (5 Danny Kane 64 mins), 9 Jessie Devers (17 Cemal Ramadan 49 mins), 10 Tom Holland, 12 Corey Whelan, 15 Evan Osam, 18 Alex Mulrooney-Skinner (11 Nathan Corkery 40 mins)
Subs not used: 16 Colin McCabe, 2 Nathan Benson, 13 Steven Kinsella, 14 Thomas Tiernan,
Head Coach: Tom Mohan
