Cymru play Croatia in Wrexham on 05/04

Cymru Remain Unbeaten in #U17EURO Elite Round with Iceland Draw

The 2023 UEFA U17 Elite Round between Cymru & Iceland at Dragon Park on the 25th of March 2023.

Cymru remained at the top of Group 2 in the #U17EURO Elite Round with a 1-1 draw against Iceland.

Craig Knight’s side, who beat Scotland 4-2 in their opening game on Wednesday, knew a win would be enough to seal a place in the finals after the Scots beat Montenegro earlier in the day.

Despite Alfie Tuck’s first-half strike being cancelled out by Daníel Ingi Jóhanesson after the break, Cymru remain in a strong position to progress ahead of their final fixture against Montenegro on Tuesday.

Cymru started well at Dragon Park and almost went ahead when George Morgan was found on the right-hand side early on before the ball bounced to Cody Twose, whose attempt was blocked out for a corner. 

Dylan Lawlor was then found unmarked at the back post, but his header went wayward. 

Strong dribbling by Iwan Morgan, followed by a one-two with Jacob Cook, saw the former fire at Ívar Arnbro Þórhallson who saved. 

Luey Giles struck the crossbar with a cross from the touchline. Giles then provided a great cross from a free kick, and Lawlor was inches away from heading on goal. 

Iwan Morgan had two shots blocked in quick concession: the first a curling effort from the left, the second a half volley from the edge of the box. 

Tuck opened the scoring with a brilliant left-footed half volley from outside of the box following a corner, finding the bottom corner through the crowd. 

Iwan Morgan hit the target once again, dribbling in from the left-hand side and curling an effort on goal. 

Iceland came close to equalising early in the second half as quick feet by Cole Campbell found space in the box, but Daniel Cox did well to prevent him getting a shot off. 

The visitors continued adding pressure as link up play between Campbell and Daníel Tristan Gudjohnsen forced Lawlor into making a tackle in the box before Cox cleared. 

They were rewarded for their efforts as Daníel Ingi Jóhanesson headed past Kit Margetson. 

Iwan Morgan had an opportunity to restore Wales’ lead minutes later, forcing a strong save out of Þórhallson. 

He then found space on the touchline before finding George Morgan with a cross, but the Iceland defence were on hand to clear. 

Iwan Morgan was found with a ball over the top before firing an outside of the foot shot which was saved. 

A clever Charlie Crew free kick found Iwan Morgan in space in the box, but his shot was deflected into the side netting. From the resulting corner, Cox headed over from close at the back post. 

Cook fired from distance and almost caught Þórhallson out, who nearly parried the ball into his own net. 

Cymru had a couple of chances in injury time, with Gabriele Biancheri shooting on target and Freddie Issaka firing a volley wide of the post. 

They then struck the crossbar through Joseph Andrews seconds before the final whistle was blown. 

Cymru XI: Kit Margetson, Luey Giles, Daniel Cox, Dylan Lawlor (Brayden Clarke 78’), Charlie Crew (C), Iwan Morgan (Troy Perrett 85’), George Morgan (Freddie Issaka 59’), Ronan Kpakio, Jacob Cook (Joseph Andrews 78’), Alfie Tuck (Gabriele Biancheri 59’), Cody Twose.

GOALS: Alfie Tuck (31’)

YELLOW CARDS: Freddie Issaka (63’), Dylan Lawlor (71’), Troy Perrett (90’) 

Iceland XI: Ívar Arnbro Þórhallson, Stefán Gísli Stefánsson, Þorri Stefán Þorbjönsson, Sölvi Stefánsson, Kjartan Már Kjartansson, Daníel Tristan Gudjohnsen (C), Cole Campbell, Jón Arnar Sigurdsson (Nóel Atli Arnórson 66’), Daníel Ingi Jóhanesson, Breki Baldursson, Bkarki Hauksson (Sesar Örn Harđarson 46’).

GOALS: Daníel Ingi Jóhanesson (52’) 

YELLOW CARDS: None.

Learn more from FA Wales

Sign up to receive all things FAW, from team news, tickets, domestic, grassroots, to exclusive offers and prize draws.

We respect your privacy and are committed to protecting your personal data – view our privacy policy by clicking here.