Zane Monlouis started and played 90 minutes as England u17s won the Syrenka Cup in Poland on Tuesday.
Arsenal defender Monlouis spent the international break featuring in the cup competition with England. He started and played 90 minutes in a 5-0 win over Finland in the quarter-final, before heavy rotation for the semis two days later saw him come off the bench as a substitute in a 4-2 victory over Austria.
The 15-year-old did well enough in those appearances to earn a spot in the starting lineup for the final, which turned out to be an intriguing affair.
Monlouis started at right-back and played well overall. He won the ball back on a number of occasions, even if he wasn’t as involved in possession as much as he would’ve hoped, with England’s attacking play focused on the left-hand side.
England raced into a 2-0 lead within 10 minutes, but they were pegged back to 2-2 before the half-time whistle. Things calmed down a bit in the second period, with Poland trying to kill the game and see it out for penalties.
The hosts got their wish, with the match finishing 2-2 and going to a shootout. They may have regretted that game plan afterwards though, as they only managed to score one of their four spot-kicks, whilst England scored three of theirs.
Congratulations to Monlouis on the tournament victory, let’s hope he can carry that winning feeling back to North London!