A deft chip from Dominic Solanke and piece of individual brilliance from Patrick Roberts delivered England’s Young Lions into the European Championship final in Malta.

John Peacock’s team rode their luck as Portugal struck the woodwork three times in a first-half they dominated but two marvellous goals after the break set up a showpiece on Wednesday against either Scotland or Holland.

Chelsea forward Solanke controlled a perfect Taylor Moore ball from the half-way line, took a couple of touches to steady himself and then lifted the ball expertly over goalkeeper Fabio Duarte on 51 minutes.

It was a very slender and most unexpected lead but England removed the possibility of a nervous finale when Fulham’s young star Roberts cut in from the right-wing, shimmied past two defenders and found the net with the aid of a hefty deflection.

The win puts this current crop within 90 minutes of lifting the trophy and emulating the Class of 2010 that contained Ross Barkley among others.

After handsome wins over Malta and Turkey, England had to settle for second in the group phase after a disappointing defeat to Holland.

The assignment against Portugal looked tricky but Peacock restored his most accomplished players to the starting XI, including Chelsea duo Isaiah Brown and Solanke, and Newcastle United striker Adam Armstrong.

It all started so well for England, who forced four corners within the first two minutes, but it didn’t take long for a bold and vibrant Portugal side to start calling the shots.

The usually assured Joseph Gomez momentarily lost his concentration, presenting Goncalo Rodrigues with the ball and he switched it right to the onrushing Alexandre Silva. Driving into the England box, he returned it to Rodrigues whose low shot was saved at point blank range by Freddie Woodman.

Barely a minute later, and with the England back four still missing their senses, Diogo Goncalves struck the post with a venomous drive that had Woodman rooted to the spot.

Portugal cursed the woodwork once again when their captain Ruben Neves strode forward from deep and, seeing that no one in a white shirt wanted to close him down, rattled the crossbar with a 30-yarder.

Goncalves continued his personal duel with the post on the stroke of half-time, his rasping shot rebounding back into the grateful arms of Woodman. Luck clearly wasn’t on their side.

Meaningful spells of possession had been a luxury for England, let alone clear-cut chances, and their cause wasn’t helped when Armstrong hobbled off with just a third of the game played.

Very fortunate to escape back to the dressing rooms on level terms, England at least re-emerged with a bit of impetus. Onomah was presented with a brilliant opening barely a minute after the re-start but blazed over.

Solanke’s immaculate finish made sure the good spell wasn’t wasted but he slipped at the vital moment when about to pull the trigger from the edge of the box on England’s next attack. The remaining half-hour was expected to be backs-to-the-wall stuff but Portugal couldn’t generate any pressure. The best they came was when Goncalves curled a reckless shot over and England could have doubled their lead when Onomah and then Solanke were crowded out in the box.

And Brown was inches away from turning in a sweeping Gomez cross from the right after the Charlton defender made a lung-busting 60-yard run. In the end, however, it was Roberts that made sure as England reached the final in unexpected comfort.

England coach Peacock reflected on a game of two halves afterwards: ‘I’m delighted. I think this group need to be in the final and we deserve to be in the final.

‘We did ride our luck. We started well, in the first 10 minutes I was pleased with them, we put them under pressure and then we imploded really through our own stupid mistakes. We had to weather the storm and I think we were very fortunate to do that.

‘We had a few words in the right manner at half-time because we know we’re better than that.

We had to raise our game otherwise we would have been going home. So the second half was magnificent. ‘It was a fantastic first touch from Dom and the finish was excellent. We just needed that bit of a spark because we started really well second-half. That was a great goal to get us into a 1-0 lead.

‘Patrick got a bit of fortune but he’s been cutting inside a few times in that second half and missed the target. But he’s always got a goal in him. That gave us a bit of breathing space in the last few minutes.’

—Daily Mail