England ousted by Germany

Germany earned a semi-final against Nigeria on Thursday at the FIFA U-17 World Cup after four second-half goals gave them a 4-1 quarter-final win against England in Korea Republic.

Double strike
There had been little in a cagey first half to suggest that a spree of goals would be forthcoming after the interval but the floodgates were opened in the 50th minute when Sebastian Rudy fired in from distance. England did not recover from the blow and found themselves two down six minutes later when Richard Sukuta-Pasu found the net.

Inspired substitutions
England coach John Peacock made two changes in an attempt to stem the tide and he was rewarded when Rhys Murphy pulled a goal back after 65 minutes. But Germany continued to pile on the pressure and Dennis Dowidat and Toni Kroos underlined their advantage to secure a semi-final spot while England's Ashley Chambers received a late red card to cap a miserable day.

Delighted coach
Germany coach Heiko Herrlich said: "My players reacted brilliantly in the second half and the two goals we scored gave us the confidence to go and finish the game off. I'd just like to say how satisfied I am with the team we've put together, not just on the pitch but off it too. It's like a machine in which all the gears work perfectly." African champions Nigeria await Germany after they progressed to the semi-finals courtesy of 2-0 win against Argentina. On Wednesday the other last-four fixture matches European champions Spain with another African side, Ghana.