Under-17: Wales finish third with 6-0 win over San Marino

Wales clinched third place in Group 9 of Round 1 of next year's UEFA European Under-17 Championship Qualifiers. Topping the group is Italy, who ran out 7-0 winners over Norway in the decisive head-to-head in Montecchio. Both sides will compete in League A of Round 2, while San Marino and Wales will play in League B by the end of June 2025. Hatswell’s team initially set out with a game plan based on controlled possession, looking to create one-on-one situations out wide for Rhodes and Pita. The first chance came from the latter, with Bradbury’s close-range header drifting wide. The youngsters in light blue defended in an orderly fashion, pushing forward through the runs of Bucchi and Arlotti. In midfield, Pennacchini turned in an outstanding performance, coping well with both the physical and technical battle against highly rated opponents from the likes of Arsenal, Manchester United and Everton – to name just a few of the clubs represented in the Welsh ranks. The deadlock was broken by a piece of play from Rhodes, unstoppable when allowed to run at his man. Slipped into the area, his first cross was cut out by Stefani, but as the move continued the ball bounced around in the box and – helped by an imperfect intervention from Cenci – Grainger only had to tap into the net. Barely a minute later, the Sheffield Wednesday forward doubled the lead, this time finishing first-time from Pita’s pass in behind. After the break the British side reshaped their back line and right flank, but the third goal again stemmed from another piece of individual skill by Rhodes on the opposite wing. Evading a double team and surging past a further defender, he reached the byline to cut the ball back for the ever-present Grainger, who completed his hat-trick before making way. Shortly afterwards Wales extended their lead through Allmark’s angled strike, set up by Neil, while Newman had to wait until the 80th minute to get his name on the scoresheet. Dewsbury also joined him four minutes later with a low angled finish that beat Cenci. Before the end, there was a speculative effort from Molinari and a fine counter-attack culminating in Canarezza’s left-footed diagonal from inside the area. Despite the heavy scoreline, it was an overall positive display from Bonesso’s team.

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Euro U17 2025 – Qualifying Round 1 | San Marino – Wales 0-6   SAN MARINO Cenci; Sammaritani (69' Guidi), Stefani, Zavoli; Tamagnini, Pennacchini, Meloni, Bucchi (46' Canarezza), Terni (46' Terni); Arlotti (65' Molinari), Grandoni (58' Grandoni) Substitutes: Conti, Montali, De Biagi Coach: Alessandro Loris Bonesso   WALES Meredith; Bloniarczyk (46' Kendrick), Reynolds (46' Street), Heywood; Pita (46' Newman), Marciniak, Gardner, Allmark, Rhodes; Grainger (60' Neil), Bradbury (46' Dewsbury) Substitutes: Abbotson, Robinson, Williams, Cissé Coach: Wayne Hatswel   Referee: Ladislav Skikszay (CZE) Assistant referees: Michal Volf (CZE) and Valentyn Kutsev (UKR) Fourth official: Dmytro Panchyshyn (UKR) Scorers: 25', 27' and 50' Grainger, 62' Allmark, 80' Newman, 84' Dewsbury Booked: Terni, Allmark, Neil, Canarezza

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