From Owen Goodman’s first senior Canada call-up to further opportunities for Joél Drakes-Thomas, Charlie Walker-Smith, and Matteo Dashi – get the lowdown on our international Eagles below!
Palace U21s wing-back Joél Drakes-Thomas capped off an impressive international camp with England Under-17s, making notable contributions across all three fixtures during their trip to Dubai.
Drakes-Thomas had an immediate impact in England’s thrilling 5–2 comeback win over the USA on Thursday, 13th November. Trailing by two goals with just half an hour remaining, the Young Lions sparked a remarkable turnaround with strikes from Mathis Eboue, Kyran Thompson, and Brian Madjo, before Eboue completed his hat-trick late on.
Introduced in the 79th minute, Drakes-Thomas played a crucial role in the fifth goal, making a sharp run into the box and delivering a teasing cross to the back post, where Eboue headed home to seal the comeback.
The 16-year-old then played the full 90 minutes in Saturday’s (15th November) 1–1 draw with Côte d’Ivoire. England took the lead early in the second half through Calvin Diakite, following a dangerous delivery from Floyd Samba, but the visitors equalised with just over 15 minutes remaining.
England concluded their Dubai tour with a 1–1 draw against Australia on Tuesday afternoon (18th November). Drakes-Thomas started again before being substituted mid-way through the second-half. Max Court gave England an early lead, but Jacob Howard’s firm header shortly after the restart ensured the Young Lions finished the camp unbeaten.
After three intense matchdays, Côte d’Ivoire topped the table with seven points to claim the tournament, England finished runners-up on five points, the USA came third on as many points, and Australia ended in fourth with one point.
Drakes-Thomas’ participation in Dubai continues a strong run of form for the young defender, who started all three of England’s European Championship qualifiers last month.
