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England on the edge! Young Lions in danger of crashing out of U17 European Championship after humbling defeat to Italy despite Alejandro Rodriguez double

England's Under-17s are on the verge of an early exit at Euro 2025 after their 4-2 defeat to Italy on Friday evening. Having drawn their opening game with Belgium, they are now staring down the barrel ahead of their third fixture against Czechia. Italy went ahead just 10 minutes in when Samuele Inacio converted a penalty following a foul from England defender Junai Byfield. Less than 15 minutes later, though, the Young Lions were level through Lyon youngster Alejandro Rodriguez, who finished after a fine ball from Dean Benamar.England came close to taking the lead when Max Dowman forced a save from the Italy goalkeeper, but it was the Azzurri who regained the lead as Cristiano De Paoli reacted quickly to score on the rebound after he saw an initial shot blocked.Italy had a strong finish to the first half, but it was Neil Ryan's men who struck early in the second, with Rodriguez showing some fine skill to deceive Leonardo Bovio, create space in the box and fire into the net.Just after the hour mark, a dangerous cross from a corner sparked a brief game of pinball in the England box that ended with Destiny Elimoghale firing into the net moments after he came off the bench, but it was disallowed.Italy got their third shortly after, though, with Thomas Campaniello getting on the end of a cross and heading in from close range. After setting that goal up, Andrea Luongo put the game beyond doubt with just over 10 minutes left, sending a low free-kick rolling into the corner.

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It wasn't enough to earn a point for his side but Rodriguez did well to get his second and third goals of the tournament to at least give England a chance of getting their first win of the competition.

THE MVP

Byfield's decision to dive in for a challenge early on conceded a penalty and increased the difficulty facing his side for the rest of the game.

THE BIG LOSER

England have a point from their first two matches and need a win from their game against Czechia to have a chance of progressing.

WHAT COMES NEXT?

MATCH RATING (OUT OF FIVE): ⭐⭐⭐⭐

England on the edge! Young Lions in danger of crashing out of U17 European Championship after humbling defeat to Italy despite Alejandro Rodriguez double | Goal.com

England are in danger of crashing out of the Under-17 European Championship after suffering a 4-2 defeat to Italy in their second game.