England U19 0-5 France U19: Young Lions out of Euros with heavy loss

England's under-19s side have been dumped out of the European Championships after a heavy defeat against an impressive France side.

The Young Lions came into the tournament in Finland as reigning champions, having beaten Portugal in the final last summer.

However they were comprehensively outplayed by the French in Vassa - who had 22 shots on goal while England had only three - leaving them third in Group B behind their opponents and pool winners Ukraine.

Their only consolation is that by coming third in the group they have earned a shot at a play-off for the 2019 U20s World Cup - of which England are also defending champions. They play Norway for a place in next summer's tournament in Poland.

The U19s were managed by Paul Simpson, who guided the U20s to glory in South Korea last summer, but were missing several eligible star names, including  Manchester City's Phil Foden, Borussia Dortmund's Jadon Sancho and Fulham's Ryan Sessegnon

However Nabil Alloui put France ahead in the 28th minute, before Myziane Maolida made the task doubly difficult with a strike four minutes before the break. Elliot Embleton struck the crossbar in the first half for England.

Alioui scored his second and France's third 11 minutes after the interval, before two quickfire strikes by Amine Gouiri sealed a miserable day for England.

Middlesbrough winger Marcus Tavernier had a consolation goal disallowed for offside, in a match where England only needed a draw to reach the semi-finals.

However they never looked like matching a French side who, after losing their opening game against Ukraine have emerged as one of the competition's most impressive forces. This was their second consecutive 5-0 victory.

Ukraine - who beat Turkey 1-0 in Group B's other game - play Portugal in the last four, while France take on Group A winners Italy.