Exceptional England ease through

England reached the semi-finals of the UEFA European Under-19 Championship for the first time since 2005 thanks to a record-breaking victory against ten-man Slovenia that secured first place in Group A in considerable style.

First-half flurry
Needing a win to make sure of progress, Brian Eastick's side never looked back after the exceptional Henri Lansbury opened the scoring in the tenth minute, the Arsenal FC midfielder setting up further goals for Matthew Briggs, Danny Welbeck and Nathan Delfouneso before half-time, with Welbeck adding another in a rampant first-half display. Slovenia played for almost an hour with ten men following Boban Jovič's 36th-minute red card but pulled a goal back through Dejan Dimitrov, only for Delfouneso and substitute Nile Ranger to add further strikes in the final 20 minutes and complete the biggest win in the finals of a European U19 Championship.

Perfect start
The first chance of the game actually fell to Slovenia, Jason Steele racing from his line to deny Armend Sprečo, but England quickly took a grip on the game they were never to loosen. Welbeck expertly flicked Delfouneso's cross from the left into the path of Lansbury, whose shot from the edge of the area found the top corner of the net. The scorer then delivered the corner from which Briggs headed England's second in the 19th minute.

Decisive spell
Although Slovenia's Anel Omerovič headed a golden opportunity wide, the game was effectively settled in the 25th minute and again Lansbury was at the heart of the move, playing the decisive pass for Welbeck to round off a rapid counterattack. It was a similar story for England's fourth seven minutes later, Andrew Tutte supplying the pass for Welbeck to calmly beat the exposed Matej Radan. Slovenia's night got even worse as Jovič – back in the team after a one-game ban following his Matchday 1 dismissal – was shown a red card for a high tackle on the inspirational Lansbury.

Delfouneso delight
Delfouneso promptly swept in England's fifth following another Lansbury corner, and the midfielder then presented Welbeck with the chance for a first-half hat-trick, the forward rounding Radan only to be denied by Alen Vučkič's goalline clearance. Dimitrov's angled finish five minutes after the interval gave Slovenia supporters something to cheer, yet England remained the likelier scorers and restored the five-goal margin when Delfouneso tapped in substitute Andros Townsend's low cross, Ranger racing clear to add a seventh. England will now place France in Thursday's semi-finals, a match Townsend misses through suspension following his late caution, while Slovenia finish fourth.