England Under-16s ended their year by winning the Nike Tournament after a 2-2 draw with the Netherlands in Florida.
After beating hosts USA and Brazil in their first two games earlier this week, Dan Micciche’s squad knew that a draw with the Dutch would be good enough to see them win the friendly competition.
Netherlands 2-2 England
Nike International Tournament
Sunday 6 December 2015
Lakewood Ranch, Florida, USA
And they had to show their character too, after coming back from 2-0 down to score a last-gasp equaliser and ensure they had the best record of the four participating nations.
The Dutch took an early lead when Daishawn Redan scored after just eight minutes, before Dereck Darkwa doubled the lead in the 16th minute to give England a real challenge.
But that setback brought the desired reaction from the Young Lions, who spent the majority of the remaining first half on the front foot.
They deservedly pulled a goal back moments before the break when a low cross was converted from close range by Manchester City forward Jadon Sancho, his third goal of the tournament.
The second half followed a similar pattern and it looked as though England were going to be left frustrated.
But they showed their patience and kept playing before they found an equaliser in the last minute, when substitute George McEachran of Chelsea swung a cross into the box for Fulham defender Ryan Sessegnon to get the final touch past Dutch keeper Jasper Schendelaar.
England: 13 Curtis Anderson (Manchester City); 2 Marc Guehi (c) (Chelsea), 4 Tashan Oakley Booth (Tottenham Hotspur), 5 Jonathan Panzo (Chelsea), 8 Nya Kirby (Tottenham Hotspur), 9 Danny Loader (Reading), 10 Angel Gomes (Manchester United), 11 Jadon Sancho (Manchester City), 14 Oliver Skipp (Tottenham Hotspur), 16 Zech Medley (Chelsea), 20 Ian Carlo Poveda (Brentford)
Substitutes: 1 Thomas McGill (Brighton & Hove Albion) for Anderson 41, 3 Ryan Sessegnon (Fulham) for Medley 41, 7 Emile Smith Rowe (Arsenal) for Kirby 51, 17 Phil Foden (Manchester City) for Poveda 51, 19 Austin Samuels (Wolverhampton Wanderers) for Sancho 59, 18 George McEachran (Chelsea) for Gomes 58
Substitutes not used: 6 Colin Rosler (Manchester City), 15 Timothy Eyoma (Tottenham Hotspur)
Head coach: Dan Micciche
Goals: Jadon Sancho 40, Ryan Sessegnon 80
