England U17s opened their World Cup campaign with a stunning 10-0 thrashing of New Caledonia in Indonesia. Starlets from Arsenal and Chelsea shone in the big victory, which puts the Young Lions in a healthy position in Group C.
Ryan Garry’s side are among the favourites to win the competition and began their campaign with a thumping triumph. New Caledonia are playing in their first World Cup at any level and suffered a day to forget on their tournament debut.
Chelsea’s Reiss Russell-Denny opened the scoring from the penalty spot against the Oceanian outfit, who were reduced to 10 men early in the second half. The floodgates then opened with England 4-0 ahead at half-time.
There were two goals from Manchester City striker Justin Oboavwoduo and another from Tyler Dibling. Highly-rated Chelsea defender Josh Acheampong also got on the scoresheet.
Sam Amo-Ameyaw and Ethan Nwaneri, Arsenal’s youngest-ever player, both scored midway through the second half. A late flurry of goals in the final 10 minutes saw England score through an own goal, Harrison Murray-Campbell and Finley McAllister.
It gives England a major boost ahead of the rest of their Group C campaign. Garry’s team play Iran and then tournament favourites Brazil.
The U17 World Cup has provided the perfect platform to many current Three Lions stars. A golden generation of England talent won the tournament in 2017.
That side, managed by now-Nottingham Forest boss Steve Cooper, consisted of Jadon Sancho, Callum Hudson-Odoi, Phil Foden, Conor Gallagher, Marc Guehi and Morgan Gibbs-White.
Foden spent time speaking with the current crop of England U17 players before they headed out to Indonesia to play in the tournament.
“We heard from players like Phil, his recollections of that tournament in 2017, and how he felt it helped and developed him on his journey,” head coach Garry said.
“It’s a huge achievement winning the World Cup at any level. The fantastic work done by the players and staff is a real reference point, not just for this age group but for a lot of people at St. George’s Park.
“You’re never going to be too far away from hearing or speaking about success. That age group have then gone on to repeat their success in the Euros this summer. It’s something our group aspires to do. The message was about being together.”
