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England are set to sail into the last 16 of the Under-17 World Cup, and one prospect has had a key role to play in Indonesia.
The Three Lions have won two from two in Group C and sit three points clear of Brazil ahead of their climactic encounter on Friday. And Chelsea midfielder Reiss-Alexander Russell-Denny will be eager to keep up a certain tradition when he stares down the Selecao in Jakarta.
That's because the 17-year-old has bagged the opener in each of England's two outings at the tournament thus far. Not only that, but his outside-the-box equaliser against Iran on Tuesday proved particularly important.
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The teenage talent played a neat one-two with Manchester City forward Matthew Warhurst, whose give-and-go gave Russell-Denny the space he needed on the edge of the area. And after a couple of touches to get the ball out from under his feet, the latter let rip with a pinpoint effort to pull Greg Lincoln's boys level.
The finish was that much better considering it came just four minutes after he replaced 16-year-old Sunderland midfielder Chris Rigg. That led to one fan account on X (formerly Twitter) dubbing Russell-Denny 'the game changer' thanks to his telling contribution.
Who will win the 2023 Under-17 World Cup? Let us know in the comments section below.
England went on to earn all three points against Iran after City winger Joel Ndala converted the winner in the 90th minute. The trickster punished Iranian goalkeeper Arsha Shakouri for giving him the ball inside the box as Ndala curled home in the far corner from an (almost) impossible angle.
It was far less of a slog in England's tournament-opener against New Caledonia, where Russell-Denny scored the first of 10 goals without a response. However, his 16th-minute breakthrough from the penalty spot on that occasion wasn't nearly as interesting.
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Blues fans will understandably be excited about the latest emerging prospect emerging from the ranks at Cobham. And more might be expected of the player in the near future after he recorded three assists in the first three games of Chelsea's Under-18 campaign, as well as making his EFL Trophy debut against Northampton.
England will face arguably their toughest task of the Group C campaign when they go up against Brazil, who lost 3-2 to Iran when those sides met on Saturday. There, Russell-Denny will be banking on a return to the XI after keeping up his scoring streak, with the Three Lions requiring just a point to guarantee a first-place finish in their pool.
- Chelsea FC
- England Football Team
- Premier League
- Manchester City FC
- Sunderland FC
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