The England u19 team have qualified for the u20 Women’s World Cup next year by beating the Auld enemy in the play-off for the final place available for the tournament.

England defeated Scotland by two goals to nil in the fifth place play-off at the UEFA u19 Euros. The play-off game happened because France, who qualify as hosts for the FIFA 2018 u20 World Cup, made it to the semi-finals in the tournament and therefore left the fourth remaining place open to the play-off winners.

England scored through midfielders Zoe Cross and Mollie Rouse, two of the numerous youngsters in the squad who have decided to further their education in the USA playing football in the NCAA. Eight of 19 players selected for the tournament will play their football on the other side of the pond next year, as playing in England does not offer the same opportunities in term of educational and football development.

If we look at the contribution for the whole tournament from all the current and former Arsenal youngsters, it shows a contrasting picture:

Lotte Wubben-Moy got no playing time over the four games. This is really strange considering her form in the Spring Series, but Mo Marley preferred the Fisk/Finnigan partnership at centre back.

Taylor Hinds played in two games for a total of 96 minutes with a full game against France at right-back, anunusual position for Taylor. She also made an appearance at the end of the game against Scotland.

Anna Patten played 190 minutes, playing the full 90 minutes in three games out of four and coming on with ten minutes to play against France.

Georgia Allen played 185 minutes in four games. She got two goals against Italy in the 2-1 win and played 90 minutes. She played 85 minutes against the Netherlands, then 40 minutes before getting injured against France and one minute against Scotland

Chloe Kelly played 148 minutes over two games. She played the full 90 minutes against Italy and then 58 minutes against Netherlands and missed out on the other games due to injury.

The FIFA u20 Women World Cup  will take place in Brittany and the following teams have qualified so far: France (hosts), New Zealand, Spain, Germany, England and Netherlands.