England ease into Elite round

England hit spectacular form to sail through UEFA European Under-19 Championship qualifying round Group 3 with three wins and 14 goals, while Iceland recovered from an opening 5-1 defeat to join them.

Hosts begin well
That result was against England in Doncaster on Matchday 1. The host side went ahead just after half-time through Febian Brandy and although Iceland captain Aron Einar Gunnarsson equalised, Andrew Carroll made it 2-1 on 58 minutes and James Henry struck four minutes later. Krystian Pearce, one of four players in the England squad to have reached last season's U17 final, added another goal on 72 minutes. Chelsea FC's highly-rated Scott Sinclair then made it four goals in 19 minutes to the delight of a crowd of 5,572. Belgium also started well, beating Romania 4-0 in York with Stijn Wuytens's early goal added to after the break by two Nill De Pauw strikes and a late effort from substitute Ratko Vansimpsen.

Obadeyi hat-trick
England did not miss a step as they defeated Romania 6-0 in Scunthorpe. Ciaran Clark scored in the third minute, and Temitope Obadeyi and Jamie Chandler added further goals before the interval. Brandy got in on the act in the 52nd minute after being set up by Jack Cork, on his current club ground, and late on Obadeyi struck twice more for a hat-trick. That left England all but through as Iceland beat Belgium 3-1 in Rochdale, Gylfi Thór Sigurdsson and Kristinn Jónsson striking in the first 13 minutes and although De Pauw pulled one back, Jósef Kristinn Jósefsson added another late on.

Duo through
Iceland's hopes were now revived and goals from Jósef Kristinn Jósefsson and Sigurdsson gave them a 2-0 win against Romania in Doncaster. That was enough to ensure they joined the hosts in the Elite round as England beat Belgium 3-1 before 5,993 fans in Barnsley. Obadeyi's smart turn and shot on 30 minutes opened the scoring and Henry doubled the lead midway through the second half after running on to a Brandy pass. Vadis Odjidja-Ofoe pulled one back with a shot from the halfway line but Pearce had the final word.