Luca Williams-Barnett and Malachi Hardy are heading home after England’s youngsters were eliminated from the Under-17 World Cup via a 4-0 defeat by Austria in the round of 16 on Tuesday.
Attacking midfielder Luca once again started the game in Qatar and after a goalless first half, he went close to putting England ahead with a shot from the edge of the box just 25 seconds into the second period.
Austria took the lead shortly afterwards, though, and after the dismissal of Alejandro Gomes Rodriguez, England conceded three more goals to slump to defeat.
Luca played 61 minutes before being substituted while defender Malachi remained on the bench.
Luca featured in all five of England’s games at the tournament, coming on in the opener against Venezuela, a 3-0 defeat, before starting the latter four matches.
Malachi, meanwhile, started and played the full 90 minutes against Venezuela, with his only other appearance coming off the bench in the third group stage match against Egypt, which England won 3-0. He was an unused substitute for the other three games.
In other youth international action on Tuesday, young full-back Oscar Sandiford played 90 minutes for England’s Under-17s as they rounded off their trip to Dubai with a 1-1 draw against Australia.
Midfielder George Feeney, meanwhile, came on in the 57th minute of Northern Ireland Under-19s’ 4-0 defeat to Czech Republic in a European Under-19 Championship qualifier in Malta.