Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Evening Standard
Evening Standard
Sport
Marc Mayo

Chelsea starlet nets in England U17 World Cup victory before stunning Joel Ndala winner

England came from behind to beat Iran and bag their second win in a row at the Under-17 World Cup.

After downing Brazil in their opener, Iran posed a strong threat to the Young Lions who had smashed 10 goals past New Caledonia to get their campaign in Indonesia underway.

England fell behind on the half-hour mark when Abolfazl Zamani poked home a goalmouth scramble from a corner.

The introduction of Chelsea midfielder Reiss-Alexander Russell-Denny saw the game swing back in their favour however and he netted an accurate finish from outside the box shortly after coming on.

Greg Lincoln's youngsters pushed for the winner and finally edged ahead when Manchester City's Joel Ndala managed to round the Iran goalkeeper on the edge of the box.

From a tight angle, the 17-year-old's superb curled finish beat two defenders on the line and put England within touching distance of the last-16.

They face Brazil in Jakarta on Friday knowing a point will be enough to see them into the knockouts. The South Americans fired off an impressive 81 shots in beating New Caledonia 9-0 on Tuesday.

England failed to qualify for the 2019 U17 World Cup but won the tournament two years earlier, when current Nottingham Forest boss Steve Cooper led a team featuring the likes of Phil Foden, Conor Gallagher and Marc Guehi to glory.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.