YOUNG City goalkeeper Declan Rudd has helped England Under-19s qualify for the UEFA European Under-19 Championship.

Rudd played in goal for all three of the Young Lions' Elite Round games - keeping two clean sheets in the opening two group matches and helped hold hosts Ukraine to a 1-1 draw to secure their place in the finals.

Noel Blake's England side kicked off Group 3 with a 1-0 win over the Republic of Ireland on Wednesday. Tottenham Hotspur's Dean Parrett curled home the only goal of the game from a free-kick.

England, last year's runners-up, followed this with a 4-0 win over Bosnia-Herzegovina in Kiev. Sunderland's Ryan Noble, Matthew Phillips of Wycombe Wanderers, Tottenham's John Bostock and Nathan Delfouneso of Aston Villa bagged the goals.

Then on Monday, a dramatic late strike by Parrett denied Ukraine a win and a trip to the finals, where they had defeated the Young Lions last year.

As group winners England qualify for the finals in France, to be played in July. Currently Croatia, Portugal, Spain, Italy and Holland have already qualified to join hosts France in the finals.