White leads England to maiden final

Ellen White was in effervescent form, scoring twice as England booked their place in the UEFA European Women's Under-19 Championship final for the first time by beating Norway 3-0 in Reykjavik.

Germany await
An electrifying presence throughout, White notched her second of the tournament midway through the first half, pouncing on a defensive mistake and Mo Marley's side did not look back. The Chelsea LFC winger doubled the advantage on the hour as Jarl Torske's team were never really able to deal with their opponents' brand of physical presence and pacy attacking. Elizabeth Edwards sealed victory 12 minutes from time, firing an unstoppable shot from 25 metres as England booked a final date with Germany on Sunday.

Midfield industry
Things were less clear-cut early on, however, as the unexpected semi-finalists both began determined to make their presences felt. England's five-strong midfield were at their bustling best, the diminutive trio of Remi Allen, Danielle Buet and Edwards providing the industry, winning possession and looking to feed the wide players. It is a ploy that has served Mo Marley's charges well in Iceland, though Norway have also impressed, and their usual suspects Maren Mjelde and Isabell Herlovsen could never be ignored, the latter testing Danielle Hill on 20 minutes.

Defensive error
There was little to choose between the teams and it needed a mistake to create the deadlock as Gunhild Herregården's weak back pass was pounced upon by White, who took the ball around the goalkeeper before side-footing in. The England No9 was a prickly presence throughout, and soon after her cross was almost turned into the Norway net by a defender as the back line began to look shaky. The resulting corner caused yet more problems before Astrid Ree cleared off the line but Torske's team slowly regained their composure.

Lack of fluency
Ida Elise Enget was at the heart of much of their better play, dragging the centre-backs to the flanks and looking to bring the midfielders into play. Her endeavour was almost wasted on 37 minutes, however, when White profited from another Herregården error before rifling a dipping half-volley just over the bar. With winds sweeping across the pitch England were also making mistakes and a pass from Buet almost set Marita Eide clear just before the interval but with attackers outnumbering defenders, she contrived to over-hit her pass to Enget and the ball rolled harmlessly out of play.

Historic triumph
It summed up Norway's half, and it did not get better after the interval. With Fern Whelan mopping up anything that broke through the England midfield, chances were at a premium and even when they did break through, they were never really able to test Danielle Hill. Eide and Enget both forced saves but when White doubled the deficit on the hour a sizeable task became imposing, and then impossible as Edwards made it 3-0 with a stunning strike, adding gloss to a historic triumph for England.