Football Apr 03, 2026

Andorra U21 1-1 England U21: Rico Lewis' 90th-minute penalty spares Young Lions' blushes in European Championship qualifier

👤
By Admin
Sports Journalist
Andorra U21 1-1 England U21: Rico Lewis' 90th-minute penalty spares Young Lions' blushes in European Championship qualifier

Rico Lewis scored a last-gasp penalty as England Under-21s laboured to a 1-1 draw against Andorra in their European Championship qualifier at the Estadi Naciona.

Lee Carsley's side were frustrated in the reverse fixture at Pride Park back in October where they edged a 1-0 victory and the Andorrans caused more problems here as England dropped points for the first time in qualifying.

The Young Lions conceded for the first time in their opening six matches when Gerard Sola gave the hosts a shock lead, seven minutes after the break.

The European champions were staring down the barrel of a first defeat since the Euros last June until Lewis scored a late penalty to rescue a point.

It was the underdog hosts who posed the first threat when Sola decided to have a crack from range which had England goalkeeper James Beadle scrambling but the ball flew wide.

England failed to get into their groove in the first 45 minutes and were far from their best as Ethan Nwaneri and Myles Lewis-Skelly both tried their luck from range but failed to find the target.

The away side were then punished for a lacklustre performance as Andorra stunned them after 52 minutes, Sola poking his effort past a helpless Beadle from Yedid Santaella's cross.

England aimed for a way back and it took until the 68th minute to register a first shot on target, which came from Jobe Bellingham's speculative effort that was easily gathered by Marc de Castro.

The visitors finally began to push Andorra deeper and were offered a lifeline from the penalty spot when Ian Olivera brought down Bellingham inside the box.

England breathed a sigh of relief when Lewis fired the resulting spot-kick home to avoid an embarrassing defeat.

The visitors should have nicked it at the death but Tyler Dibling aimed his shot straight at De Castro.

Tags:

football news

Share this article

Related Posts

Why Pep Guardiola has struggled to turn domestic dominance into repeated Champions League glory at Man City

Why Pep Guardiola has struggled to turn domestic dominance into repeated Champions League glory at Man City

Pep Guardiola was brought to Manchester City to get them over the line in the Champions League, but just one triumph in a decade shows that not even t...

Arne Slot: Liverpool boss responds to Jamie Carragher's criticism that his side are a 'team of individuals'

Arne Slot: Liverpool boss responds to Jamie Carragher's criticism that his side are a 'team of individuals'

Liverpool boss Arne Slot has responded to Jamie Carragher's suggestions that his side were 'a team of individuals' during their disappointing 1-1 draw...

Africa Cup of Nations: CAS confirms Senegal appeal after controversial decision to strip them of AFCON title

Africa Cup of Nations: CAS confirms Senegal appeal after controversial decision to strip them of AFCON title

The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) have confirmed an appeal from Senegal which aims to overturn the controversial decision to strip them of thei...

Man Utd want to keep Bruno Fernandes at Old Trafford this summer - Paper talk and football transfer gossip

Man Utd want to keep Bruno Fernandes at Old Trafford this summer - Paper talk and football transfer gossip

The top stories and transfer rumours from Wednesday's newspapers...PREMIER LEAGUEManchester United have told Bruno Fernandes that the club will do eve...

Africa Cup of Nations: Morocco crowned AFCON champions after CAF strips Senegal of title for penalty protest

Africa Cup of Nations: Morocco crowned AFCON champions after CAF strips Senegal of title for penalty protest

Senegal will appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport after the country was stripped of the Africa Cup of Nations title, with Morocco awarded the...

Bruno Fernandes: Man Utd captain chasing Premier League assist record held by Thierry Henry and Kevin De Bruyne

Bruno Fernandes: Man Utd captain chasing Premier League assist record held by Thierry Henry and Kevin De Bruyne

Bruno Fernandes has the Premier League assist record in his sights with eight games left to overtake Thierry Henry and Kevin De Bruyne's haul of 20.Th...