The Young Lions recorded a 2-1 win in their final group match against Slovenia but cruelly miss out on qualification for the tournament in Slovakia, by virtue of their head-to-head record.
England, Russia and Portugal finished Group Five with six points apiece but the 2-1 defeat on match day two proved decisive for John Peacock’s men in what proved to be a photo finish in Burton.
Neither Bryan nor Gunn emerged from the substitute’s bench for the final group match, where Bryn Morris and Charlie Colkett scored first-half goals which were enough to see off Slovenia.
It was the second time England had battled bravely to victory with ten men in three games, after Daniel Crowley was shown a red card in the first-half.
In other Euro u17 news affecting City players, Jose Angel Pozo’s Spain and Mathias Bossaerts’ Belgium are also out of the competition after finishing third and fourth in Group 1 respectively, meaning that Olivier Ntcham’s France progress to the summer tournament in second.
Jack Byrne’s Republic of Ireland are still in contention for a berth in Slovakia, they have three points from their first two games and their fate will be decided by a crucial meeting with Serbia on Saturday.
Elsewhere, City defender Tosin Adarabioyo started England u16s’ second Montaigu Tournament group match against Chile and helped his side to a 3-1 win.
That result means that England will win their group and progress to the final if they avoid defeat and better Chile’s result in their final match against Germany on Saturday.
We’ll let you know how Tosin’s England u16s get on here on mcfc.co.uk.
