Arsenal keeper’s clean sheet sends England to u19 Euros | OneFootball

The England u19s qualified for the 2025 u19 European Championships on Tuesday, with Arsenal’s Tommy Setford keeping a clean sheet against Portugal.

Photo by Jan Kruger/Getty Images

Despite being unbeaten and leading the group going into their final qualification game on Tuesday, the England u19s were anything but assured a place in June’s European Championships.

England were facing Portugal, who sat level on points with the Young Lions ahead of the match and were the top-ranked team out of all 53 sides going into the qualification process.

A defeat would see England fail to qualify, and a draw wouldn’t be enough if Turkey beat Wales in the other game. The pressure was on to secure a win, the only result that would guarantee progression to the final tournament.

Photo via Setford on Instagram

Arsenal’s Tommy Setford started the match, his second appearance of the break, having previously kept a clean sheet in England’s 2-0 win over Wales. Setford had dropped to the bench for the 0-0 draw with Turkey, but he was back in the team for the decisive fixture against Portugal.

Once again, Setford kept a clean sheet, with England’s Christopher Rigg scoring the only goal of the game to win it 1-0.

Portugal had four shots on target, which is more than England managed. But Setford was equal to all of them, ensuring his team got the win they needed.

In the end, Turkey lost to Wales anyway, and perhaps news of England’s early goal against Portugal knocked the wind out of their sails a bit. An England win meant Turkey never had a chance of qualifying.

Photo by Jan Kruger/Getty Images

England will join hosts Romania at the final tournament in June, with Germany, Spain, Denmark, Montenegro, the Netherlands, and Norway also qualifying.