Manchester City’s Rico Lewis played the full 90 minutes as England’s Under-19s got their European Under-19 2022/23 qualifying campaign off to a winning start with a 2-0 victory over Montenegro.

The teenage City defender gave an assured display at right wing back as the Young Lions began the defence of the title they won earlier this summer in fine fashion.

Luke Chambers of Liverpool struck on 61 minutes to give the England youngsters a crucial advantage.

Leeds United youngster Sonny Perkins then doubled the Young Lions’ advantage to set the seal on a solid night’s work in Denmark.

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Wednesday night’s match against Montenegro was the first of three games in the next week as part of England’s 2022-23 UEFA European Under-19 Championship qualifying round group.

Simon Rusk’s side are next in action against Georgia on Saturday before their final qualification match versus Denmark on Tuesday, with both matches kicking off at 1pm.

The top two teams in each qualifying group will join number one seeds Portugal in the spring 2023 elite round, alongside the third-placed team with the best record against the top two in their section.