Report: Montenegro 1-6 England MU17s

England men's under-17s started their UEFA U17 EURO qualifying group stage with a 6-1 win over Montenegro.

Mahdi Nicoll-Jazuli's hat-trick, Xavier Parker's brace and Joshua Abe's goal saw the Young Lions secure a convincing afternoon at St George’s Park.

England began the game with intensity and went ahead in the opening stages when Oscar Johnson slipped a through ball to Nicoll-Jazuli, whose clinical left-footed finish found the bottom corner.

The Young Lions then doubled their lead when a lofted pass found Parker, who expertly controlled and swivelled inside the penalty area, before slotting past Damjan Jankovic in the Montenegro goal.

England continued to show their attacking quality when they extended their advantage just before the half-hour mark. Samuel O'Brien cut the ball back to Nicoll-Jazuli and the attacking midfielder curled an effort into the top corner.

Vinny Joseph and Johnson went close to finding another goal before half time, but both narrowly missed the target.

Despite England's dominance, the visitors reduced the deficit just before the interval when Danilo Vukcevic arrived at the back-post to convert an inviting cross.

Nicoll-Jazuli secured his hat-trick five minutes after the break, receiving a weighted pass from Darren Motsi and finding the back of the net with a lofted attempt over Jankovic.

Another moment of quality with a similar chipped finish a few minutes later saw Abe announce himself shortly after arriving off the bench.

England added to their tally and completed their free-scoring afternoon when Emmanuel Fejokwu headed across goal to set up Parker, who was on target from close range.

Lewtas’ side will be looking to continue their momentum on Saturday when they host Poland at St. George’s Park in their next UEFA Euro U17 qualifier (12pm GMT).

England: 1 Mikel Jack (Tottenham Hotspur), 2 George Jobling (Tottenham Hotspur), 3 Samuel O'Brien (Manchester United), 4 Josh Henry (Chelsea), 5 Emmanuel Fejokwu (Club Brugge), 6 Reggie Watson (Chelsea), 7 Darren Motsi (Manchester City), 8 Xavier Parker (Manchester City), 9 Vinny Joseph (Arsenal), 10 Mahdi Nicoll-Jazuli (Chelsea), 11 Oscar Johnson (Aston Villa)

Substitutions: 17 Joshua Abe (Liverpool) for Motsi 62', 19 Mylo Bernard (Arsenal) for Joseph 62', 16 Kwasi Senyah (Tottenham Hotspur) for Nicoll-Jazuli 62', 14 Minto-St Aimie (Charlton Athletic) for O'Brien 71', 20 David Eze (Manchester United) for Watson 71'.

Subs not used: 13 Lucca Benetton (Crystal Palace), 12 Theodore Carrington (Manchester City),15 Noah Smith (Manchester City), 18 Josh Blake (Aston Villa)

Head Coach: Barry Lewtas

Goals: Nicoll-Jazuli 6', Parker 22', Nicoll-Jazuli 29', Nicoll-Jazuli 51', Abe 64’, Parker 70’