Internationals – Afobe Shines In England Draw

The Football Assosiation’s annual Under 17 International Tournament kicked off with England playing Italy in Burton’s Pirelli Stadium yesterday evening.

The competition, which was first played in 1999, pits England’s young charges against Italy, Turkey and Portugal. It is seen primarily as preparation for the UEFA European Championship Qualifiers, which start this October.

Arsenal’s Benik Afobe, Chuks Aneke and Josh Rees are all part of John Peacock’s strong squad. However there was no place for Luke Freeman, a regular at U17 level, or Nico Yennaris, who played (along with Rees) in the Nordic Tournament.

England kicked off with Chuks Aneke and Benik Afobe in the starting line-up and it was the former who had the first shot of the match. However, Chuks could only drag his shot wide when set up by McEachran. But it was the other Arsenal man who almost scored when Afobe found the Italy ‘keeper in fantastic form, firstly stopping his headed effort and then reacting smartly to his immediate rebound.

Straight after that effort, Italy took the lead against the run of play. Romano’s cross was turned in by Magnaghi, giving the Azzurri a one goal lead.

Despite this, Benik Afobe continued to be a threat. First shooting wide when stretching and then cutting back for Morrison who could only hit the post. Benik also managed a knock-down for Keane, but he prodded over.

Unfortunately, Chuks Aneke was withdrawn after 41 minutes for Bidwell.

England did manage to draw level with Italy stopper Leali turning hero to zero by punching a corner into his own net. Afobe almost managed to grab a winner but Leali once again foiled him, this time from a one-on-one.

So the game finished a draw, but the Three Lions performance grants significant optimism for the rest of the Tournament. Neither Chuks nor Afobe will be available for the Arsenal U18’s next fixture, but both will hope to feature for England against Turkey this Friday.

Article By – Gianni Sonvinco