Football Apr 10, 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

England 1-1 Uruguay: Ben White booed after scoring and then gives away penalty on international comeback

England 1-1 Uruguay: Ben White booed after scoring and then gives away penalty on international comeback

Ben White was booed by England fans after scoring and then gave away a penalty for Uruguay to draw 1-1, as the Wembley crowd gave a damning verdict on...

Chelsea 4-3 Aston Villa: WSL champions edge seven-goal thriller to reclaim second place in table

Chelsea 4-3 Aston Villa: WSL champions edge seven-goal thriller to reclaim second place in table

Sjoeke Nusken fired Chelsea back up to second place in the WSL with a dramatic late winner in a 4-3 victory over Aston Villa.The Blues' Champions Leag...

Tottenham bosses trying to convince Roberto De Zerbi to take managerial job now rather than end of season - paper talk and football transfer gossip

Tottenham bosses trying to convince Roberto De Zerbi to take managerial job now rather than end of season - paper talk and football transfer gossip

The top stories and transfer rumours from Monday's newspapers...Tottenham bosses want to convince Roberto De Zerbi to take their head coach's job now...

Newcastle's David Hopkinson discusses Eddie Howe future, Sandro Tonali transfer speculation and club record revenues

Newcastle's David Hopkinson discusses Eddie Howe future, Sandro Tonali transfer speculation and club record revenues

Newcastle's chief executive David Hopkinson says Eddie Howe's future will be discussed "when the time is right" as the club announced record revenues...

Igor Tudor: Croatian leaves Tottenham Hotspur by mutual consent after just 44 days and seven games in charge

Igor Tudor: Croatian leaves Tottenham Hotspur by mutual consent after just 44 days and seven games in charge

Igor Tudor has left his role as Tottenham Hotspur head coach after seven matches in charge.Spurs made the surprise decision to turn to Tudor just 44 d...

'Igor Tudor's departure was inevitable as Spurs roll the dice one final time in search of Premier League safety'

'Igor Tudor's departure was inevitable as Spurs roll the dice one final time in search of Premier League safety'

Igor Tudor's departure from Tottenham after just seven matches is no surprise, but Spurs must get this final roll of the dice right to maintain their...