England had to settle for the runners-up spot in the UEFA Women’s U-17 Championship after a 4-0 loss to Spain in the final.
Spain struck twice late in the first half, opening the scoring through Alba Cerrato Izquierdo and then doubling the lead in stoppage time through a Rachel Maltby own-goal when the ball went in off her head from a near-post corner.
Spain – who had thrashed last year’s winners France 6-1 in the semi-finals – effectively clinched the crown with an eight-minute brace by Celia Segura Rodriguez around the hour mark.
The third-place play-off had earlier seen Poland win on penalties, following a 2-2 draw over 90 minutes against France, to secure the third European berth at the FIFA Women’s U-17 World Cup in the Dominican Republic later this year.
Poland took a tenth-minute lead through Oliwia Zwiazek only to be instantly pegged back by Justine Rouquet, who would give the French a half-time advantage.
A 35-yard effort by Oliwia Lapinska with ten minutes left forced the shoot-out, as the Poles went on to win 4-2 on spot-kicks.
