England youngsters humbled at Junior World Cup

ENGLAND Under-21s were taught a harsh lesson by India at the Junior World Cup in Malaysia and Singapore as they slumped to a 9-0 defeat.

Andy Halliday's men have failed to find consistent form at the tournament and struggled from the off against a team who were unlucky not to be competing in the medal pools.

England got off to the worst possible start, conceding in the first minute - just like in their 2-1 defeat to Japan on Monday.

India were relentless in their pressure and added four more goals before half-time.

England's youngsters showed a greater threat in the second half but it was to no avail - their talented opponents exposing the shaky England defence on the counter attack and adding to their tally.

"We met India on a very good day for them and a bad day for us," admitted manager Halliday.

"India played very, very well and, unfortunately, they had no trouble punishing our mistakes.

"It's tough to come away from a result like that but despite the score the team never gave up; they fought right to the end."

The defeat means England finish bottom of Pool G and face South Africa for a final classification of 15th or 16th on Friday.