International Football - England down France to make final

Eurosport - Thu, 30 Jul 19:43:00 2009

England will face hosts Ukraine in the final of the U19 European Championships after two extra-time goals by Nathan Delfouneso gave them a 3-1 semi-final win over France.

FOOTBALL Nathan Delfouneso - 0

The Aston Villa striker (pictured) put England ahead from close range in the 92nd minute after keeper Remy Pillot saved from Joe Bennett, and sealed the win with a stylish run and finish 14 minutes later.

France finished the match with eight men after making an ill-judged tactic to rough England up from the outset, picking up a succession of yellow cards that ultimately handed their opponents the edge.

Jean Gallice's boys had taken an early lead when Magaye Gueye finished off the inside of the post after good work on the left by stand-out player Yacine Brahimi of Rennes.

Les Petits Bleus dominated the opening exchanges, with Brahimi and Saint-Etienne's Emmanuel Riviere giving full-backs Gavin Hoyte and Kieran Trippier a torrid time.

But, against the run of play, a superb strike from Arsenal midfielder Henri Lansbury levelled eight minutes before half-time after Daniel Drinkwater's free-kick was rebuffed by the wall.

The rest of the encounter was evenly-matched until France defender Sebasitien Corchia was shown a second-yellow card with 20 minutes remaining after bringing Drinkwater down on the edge of the box.

England were in the ascendance but could not finish France off in normal time, despite having a Nile Ranger goal disallowed and a penalty appeal waved away when Pillot brought Daniel Welbeck down in the box.

But, after an excellent run by substitute Joe Mattock down the left, Delfouneso was on hand to put England ahead two minutes into extra-time.

The Villa prospect had two more good chances to score but was denied by excellent stops from Pillot.

He got his second and England's third right on the stroke of half-time in extra-time after Middlesbrough's Bennett slid him in, allowing him to turn Abdel El Kaoutari and round Pillot before finishing in style.

France were a spent force and lost defenders Abdel El Kaoutari and Mathieu Peybernes to second yellows as England eased into their first junior final in four years.

Brian Eastick's side will face hosts Ukraine in the final on August 2 after they beat Serbia 3-1.

Reda Maher / Eurosport

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  1. Comment hidden due to its low rating. Show

    Good place for all big and tall singles, please check:­ ---Tallloving Co M ---- ,More fun waiting for you...

    From clarkchch, on Fri 31 Jul 7:59AM

  2. srimeus, yeah France were the far better team in the­ first 30 minutes or so, but England slowly worked their­ way back in. Once they equalised England were the­ better team(even before the 1st send off with 19 mins­ to go), they were passing the ball through the middle­ with confidence and France were on the back foot and­ playing on the break. Once it was down to 10 men France­ looked absolutely hopeless, and it's not always­ easy to play against 10. France conceded a dead-set­ penalty in normal time that, for some reason known only­ to the ref, wasn't given. But in the end the­ scoreline flattered the French. And the fact that the­ French played dirty would suggest that the technical­ gap between the two nations is closing fast!

    From angesleftflap, on Fri 31 Jul 6:40AM

  3. to every1 not being funny but the kid from the villa­ scored 2 goals in an england shirt ok its under­ 19's but thats more than what gabby has scored :S i­ still recon gabby played well on the right for villa as­ for heskey not being funny but he dont compare to carew­ as a replacement wen carew is injured delfonso is a­ bright star same as ashley young but we still need to­ replace barry and who do we have sidwell please petrov­ no way reo coker defo i would say his better than barry­ and his still young aswell why not try him instead of­ bringing him on as a right back we need to replace­ laursen and it takes a big man to step in2 them shoes

    From daniel, on Fri 31 Jul 12:54AM

  4. Its about scoring goals not about wee tidy passes­ England wre good and must be favourites for this title.

    From iancampbell11, on Fri 31 Jul 12:01AM

  5. In answer to 11 and 12, no chance. There total­ pre-occupation is money. Do I recall correctly that­ when they last qualified for the World Cup finals by­ the skins of their teth, they then sat down and­ negotiated a win bonus. Kiss the wallet! Bunch of­ overpaid cheating arseholes.

    From Feltorange, on Thu 30 Jul 10:43PM

  6. 11. the answer to your question would be no, once they­ get better contracts they dont care about football no­ more, just the money.

    From Scott, on Thu 30 Jul 9:50PM

  7. What is this? First the U21s now the U19s. Can the­ First Team finally get to a final again?

    From ALAN G, on Thu 30 Jul 9:14PM

  8. srimeus obviously didn't watch ALL the game. France­ did well at first but were petulant and couldn't­ compete by the end of the game. It's not nice to­ pick on people by saying rubbish like 'only people­ who understand football...' - it's pathetic.­ Well done England, good determination from some­ talented players and credit to France for a fairly good­ and entertaining game overall.

    From Simon, on Thu 30 Jul 8:08PM

  9. Its not about who plays the prettiest football, its­ about winning and we did just that

    From Jamie, on Thu 30 Jul 6:46PM

  10. srimeus...LOL just because your french you think your­ team is better , well thats ok. Like I said your team­ played better than us in the first half, but after that­ we ran all over you.

    From Jamie, on Thu 30 Jul 6:45PM
  11. Comment hidden due to its low rating. Show

    You don't need to....only people who understand­ football know where I am heading.

    From srimeus, on Thu 30 Jul 6:29PM

  12. I dont agree that France are a better team, but yes­ they looked better in the first half.

    From Jamie, on Thu 30 Jul 6:05PM
  13. Comment hidden due to its low rating. Show

    There is no doubt that france is a better team with­ fluidity and skillfull players, but stubornness earned­ them red cards and cost them a win. England, who looked­ naive upfront, either knew nothing to do with the­ passes received or gave away the balls easily. But then­ they capitalised on the red cards, what a pity for the­ French team! Sorry that you could not play cool.

    From srimeus, on Thu 30 Jul 5:55PM

  14. nathan del will turn out 2 b a reverlation in the prem­ this year

    From yardleymo, on Thu 30 Jul 5:19PM

  15. Well done boys! Hope you can follow the girls and win­ the final

    From Jamie, on Thu 30 Jul 5:12PM
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