England

Seeking their third Under-17 title in six seasons, holders England won every match in securing their place at the finals. A 4-1 victory against Cyprus in which Leicester City FC striker Layton Ndukwu scored three of his four goals set the tone for a thoroughly satisfying campaign for coach John Peacock, whose side qualified with a game to spare from the elite round group they hosted.

"My team did everything I asked of them during all three elite round fixtures – and to win all three is very pleasing," he said. Tom Davies was an assured presence in midfield and left-back Adetayo Edun showed his quality with a series of impressive performances.

Qualifying round: Cyprus 4-1, FYR Macedonia 1-0, France 3-1 (Group 4 winners)

Elite round: Norway 3-1, Slovenia 3-1, Romania 2-1 (Group 6 winners)

Team records

Qualifying top scorer
Layton Ndukwu: 4

UEFA European Under-17 Championship best
Winners: 2010, 2014

Coach: John Peacock

Date of birth: 27 March 1956
Nationality: English
Playing career: Scunthorpe United FC
Coaching career: England U16, Derby County FC (academy), England U17s/U20s

Peacock, who led England to the U17 title in 2010 and 2014, was a player until injury ended his career aged 24. He qualified as a coach three years later and spent eight years at the Football Association (FA) in a variety of roles. In 1998 he took charge of Derby's academy.

Peacock was appointed by the FA to be the England U17 coach in 2002, later landing the U20 role. He has only missed out on the U17 finals four times since, finishing runners-up in 2007, also qualifying for a FIFA U-17 World Cup debut and making the last eight, and winning in Liechtenstein in 2010 and Malta last year.

Since 2007 Peacock has also been the FA's head of coaching and is among a very small number of Englishmen to hold the FA Academy Directors' Licence and UEFA Pro Licence. He is a believer in a holistic approach, interested in educational and welfare provision for young players as well as improving their footballing ability − while at Derby his brightest charges studied for the UK's A-level exams (for 18-year-olds) at the prestigious Repton public school.