Zane Monlouis started and played 90 minutes as England u17s won the Syrenka Cup in Poland on Tuesday.
![Zane Monlouis wins the Syrenka Cup with England u17s 1 Zane Monlouis (L) of Arsenal with the England u17s at the Syrenka Cup (Photo via PZPN)](/static/uploads/2019/09/Syrenka-Cup-Monlouis-1024x507.png)
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!