England Under-19s see off Greece but miss out on semis as Italians triumph

My Account
Logout

Create an Evening Standard Account

Use your social network

Save time by using your existing account to sign in to Evening Standard

We'll never share your information or post anything to your account without your permission

Welcome! Sign in here

Use your social network

Save time by using your existing account to sign in to Evening Standard

We'll never share your information or post anything to your account without your permission

Forgot your password ?

Registration

* indicates fields that are mandatory

Email *

Password *

Confirm Password *

First name *

Surname *

Postcode *

Country *

Mobile phone number

Username *

Gender *

Year of birth *

When you sign up...

You will have access to all our online competitions, discounted offers and can post comments on our site.

You will also receive The Weekender newsletter sent every Thursday - it’s full of fantastic offers and ideas for the weekend. You can update your email preferences in your account page when you log in.

Other newsletters and emails

Homes & Property Newsletter - Yes I want to receive the weekly email with all the latest news on property in the capital

Occasionally we would also like to send you relevant emails detailing specific offers either from ourselves or carefully selected partners. If you would prefer not to receive these then please tick the appropriate boxes below. We will never pass on your details.

I do not want to receive additional offers and information from the Evening Standard

I do not want to receive additional offers and information sent by Evening Standard on behalf of carefully selected partners

Terms and Conditions

* I have read, understood and agree to be bound by the terms and conditions of Evening Standard

Registration

Mail Sent for Registration Confirmation.

A confirmation email has been sent. Please activate your account by clicking on the activation link sent in your mail box.

England tonight missed out on a semi-final place in the UEFA Under-19 Championship despite a 3-0 win over Greece.

Brian Eastick's side were impressive in their final Group B game in the Czech Republic but Italy's victory over the hosts rendered England's result immaterial.

Spot of bother: West Ham striker Freddie Sears scores from the penalty spot in the 3-0 win over Greece but it wasn't enough to see England through to the semi-finals of the UEFA Under-19 Championship.

England needed to win and for the Italians to drop points and did their job well with goals by Ben Mee, Freddie Sears and Daniel Sturridge.

But the Azzurri's 4-3 win ensured they progressed to meet Germany or Hungary in the last four.

Eastick's team began brightly as Sturridge found himself through on goal only for his shot to be saved by Nikolaos Bampaniotis.

Sturridge then teamed up with West Ham forward Sears to unleash a powerful shot which again provided Bampaniotis an opportunity to display his reflexes.

Kieran Gibbs fired a low shot wide as England continued to press before the break, Victor Moses' penalty appeal being ignored while Sears and Gibbs had chances blocked.

Moses' corner three minutes into the second half allowed Mee to break the deadlock as he rose to head in from close range.

Danny Rose's shot was blocked off the line as England continued to push, though David Button was called into action soon after as Eleftherios Matsoukas and Apostolos Giannou tested him.

Sears played Sturridge in again after 65 minutes but the Manchester City man saw his effort go over.

However, it was soon 2-0 as Sears scored from the spot after a foul on Sturridge by Vasileios Lampropoulos.

Sturridge's pace saw him get in behind five minutes from time as he evaded the goalkeeper and finished calmly to wrap up the victory.

However, Italy scored twice in the final 11 minutes - despite being a man down - to see off the Czech Republic, as England ultimately paid the price for failing to score in their previous group games, losing 2-0 to the hosts and drawing 0-0 with Italy.