Leo Castledine claimed an assist as England Under-18s ended their trip to Croatia with a win, beating Switzerland 3-1 in a game which was delayed by three hours due to a waterlogged pitch following a heavy downpour.

When the game did get under way, England made a flying start and took the lead in the very first minute, although Sonny Finch was injured in scoring the goal, bringing the Middlesbrough youngster’s game to a very early conclusion.

After the Swiss had equalised, the Young Lions regained their lead shortly before half-time, with Castledine heavily involved. Leading the line as England’s lone striker, it was the Chelsea player’s powerful shot which was saved, allowing Bobby Clark to score from the rebound.

Jobe Bellingham added a third goal in the second half to ensure England ended their trip on a high, returning from Croatia with two wins from their three friendlies.

Ian Maatsen came off the bench at half-time as the Netherlands Under-21s concluded a week-long training camp in preparation for this summer’s European Championship by drawing 1-1 in a friendly with Czechia.

The left-back started among the substitutes as the Dutch made eight changes to their team, sharing the minutes around the squad following the 3-0 win over Norway in their first game in Spain. He was introduced at the break with his side leading 1-0, after Czechia had an early penalty saved.

Maatsen helped the Netherlands take control of the game, but they missed a series of good chances to make the win safe before Czechia equalised against the run of play following an error at the back by Wouter Burger. The Czechs then had a goal disallowed for offside before Dutch striker Sydney van Hooijdonk somehow headed wide from close range late on, meaning it finished in a draw.

Bryan Fiabema was a second-half substitute for Norway Under-20s as they secured their first win of the 2022/23 European Elite League, with a comfortable 4-0 defeat of Romania on home soil.

Norway had raced into a three-goal lead inside the first 15 minutes, and the score remained that way when Fiabema was introduced shortly before the hour mark, but he helped the home side add the icing on the cake with a late fourth. That leaves them in fifth place in the eight-team league table and seven points behind leaders Italy, albeit having played three games less.

Elsewhere, Cesare Casadei was an unused substitute as Italy Under-21s continued their own preparations for the Euros with a 3-1 home win over Ukraine.