England have qualified for the FIFA U-17 Men’s World Cup to join New Zealand and 17 more countries at the tournament in November.
England beat Switzerland 4-2 in a sudden-death play-off in Hungary for the fifth qualification spot for European teams.
The May 31 (NZT) result brings to 19 the number of teams that have now qualified for the 24-nation tournament.
The venue of the November tournament remains undecided after FIFA stripped Peru of its hosting rights, saying the country was not ready for the tournament.
FIFA are assessing alternatives.
The decision also means Peru loses its right to attend the World Cup as the host nation.
New Zealand and New Caledonia qualified for the World Cup by reaching the final of the OFC U-17 Championship.
Main photo: New Zealand captain Dylan Gardiner and New Caledonia’s David Cahma contest the ball at the OFC U-17 Championship in Fiji. Photo: Kirk Corrie / www.phototek.nz. Photo: Phototek.
READ MORE: Dylan Gardiner — The towering centre back with dreams of World Cup glory >>>>
The 19 nations already qualified
Nineteen nations have confirmed their places at the FIFA U-17 Men’s World Cup:
- New Zealand and New Caledonia, through reaching the final of the OFC U-17 Championship in Fiji.
- Canada, United States, Mexico and Panama, who qualified through the 16-nation CONCACAF U-17 Championship tournament in Guatemala.
- Brazil, Argentina, Venezuela and Ecuador, through the South American U-17 Championship.
- Senegal, Morocco, Mali and Burkina Faso, through the U-17 Africa Cup of Nations.
- France, Germany, Poland, Spain and England, through the U-17 European Championship.
Where the other 5 teams will come from
The remaining 5 participants will come from:
- AFC (Asia) — four semi-finalists at the U-17 Asian Cup in late June.
- Host nation — depends on a decision by FIFA as to which country will host the tournament.
READ MORE: Our previous stories about the New Zealand U-17 men’s team >>>>
More football stories
