England were forced to settle for a draw in their Under-17 European Championship opener after France’s Adil Aouchiche cancelled out Sam Greenwood’s penalty. Having been paired with France, Holland and Sweden in Group B at the tournament in the Republic of Ireland, Steve Cooper and his team knew there would be no freebies. And so it proved on opening night as they forced to absorb waves of pressure created by a talented French opposition after Arsenal’s Greenwood had converted a first-half penalty. Arsenal's Sam Greenwood put England Under-17s ahead against France Greenwood celebrates with Noni Madueke after his goal but England had to settle for a draw The striker showed excellent composure from the penalty spot to put England in the lead The England players celebrate following Greenwood's goal in their opening game There was an inevitability about Aouchiche’s 79th-minute equaliser given the balance of play after the break and, by the end, England were probably relieved to emerge with a point. The shared spoils mean Holland take the early initiative in the group following their 2-0 win over Sweden earlier on Friday. The Dutch will provide England’s next opposition in Dublin on Monday. The evening had started in farce when referee Rade Obrenovic and his team of officials found themselves seeing the sights of County Offaly, about an hour’s drive to the south of venue Longford, after their transportation took a wrong turning. Adil Aouchiche celebrates after scoring the equaliser for France in the 79th minute The France players were jubilant following Aouchiche's important intervention It meant a half-hour delay to kick-off, disrupting the preparations of both teams, but at least Obrenovic remembered to play the match to 90-minute length as opposed to the 80-minute games seen previously in this tournament. MATCH FACTS England (4-3-3): Moulden; Walcott, Robinson (Bondswell 54), Harwood-Bellis (c), Palmer (Bate 65); Azeez, Roberts, Weir; Rogers, Greenwood, Madueke (Gelhardt 88) Substitutes not used: Trafford (GK); Mengi, Jenks, Knight Coach: Steve Cooper Scorer: Greenwood 34 pen Booked: Robinson, Walcott, Palmer, Harwood-Bellis France (4-3-3): Zinga; Soppy (Pembele 90+4), Kouassi, Ntenda, Matsima; Agoume (c), Zidane (Aouchiche 59), Millot (Lepenant 81); Mbuku (Lihadji 81), Rutter, Traore (Bakwa 59) Substitutes not used: Nazih (GK); Altikulac, Youte Kinkoue, Nsona Wa Saka Coach: Jean-Claude Giuntini Scorer: Aouchiche 79 Booked: Mbuku, Ntenda, Kouassi Referee: Rade Obrenovic (Slovenia) The name that leaped out from the teamsheets was Theo Zidane in the France midfield. The third son of Zinedine plays for Real Madrid’s academy and was looking to emulate his goalkeeper brother Luca, who won the Under-17 European Championship the last time France did in 2015. There were a couple of sharp spins in midfield, but England kept Zidane Jr largely quiet until stoppage time in the first-half. That was when his low struck free-kick rebounded off the heel of England captain Taylor Harwood-Bellis and forced keeper Louis Moulden to readjust his body to save. Spells of France pressure bookended the opening half, with England superior inbetween. The Young Lions had been forced into defensive mode early on, though France actually created little. Once England warmed to the occasion, they started to pose a threat, firstly from set-pieces and then from open play. Arsenal’s Miguel Azeez pinged an inviting free-kick to the back post that Harwood-Bellis, of Manchester City, met with a thumping header that France keeper Melvin Zinga turned over. Noni Madueke, who left Tottenham’s academy for PSV Eindhoven last year in search of a clearer path to first-team football, looked dangerous on the right side. And he was the man clipped by Jean-Claude Ntenda fractionally outside the box in the build-up to England’s opener just after the half-hour. Madueke, of PSV, attempts to get the better of France's Chrislain Matsima The free-kick was fed into a crowded penalty area like a pinball and amid all kinds of bumping, Cole Palmer was dragged clumsily to the turf by Amadou Traore. Those in blue shirts tried to protest that both sides had been guilty of shirt-grabbing but the referee quickly pointed to the spot. Greenwood was a picture of calm, sending Zinga the wrong way. Once again, England had to weather pressure at the beginning of the second-half. France captain Lucien Agoume was the only player on the field with decent first-team experience, with second-tier Sochaux, and sometimes it shone through. Agoume was involved in most of France’s moves, while forward Georginio Rutter scuffed a shot when he might have done better. England were second best but had an excellent opportunity to make it 2-0. Matt Bondswell, another English youngster who left these shores for the finishing school of Germany’s Bundesliga with RB Leipzig, cut back a cross from which Greenwood rattled the post with the French defence sleeping. But that chance was very much against the run of second-half play and it certainly wasn’t harsh on England when substitute Aouchiche equalised with 11 minutes left. Nathanael Mbuku’s cross from the left deflected off a defender into the path of Enzo Millot, whose strike was kept out by the glove of Moulden. But the keeper could only divert the ball straight to Aouchiche following in and he rammed it home. There were certainly some hairy moments for England after that as they clung on defensively. Moulden saved brilliantly from Chrislain Matsima in the closing minutes to ensure no further damage. All rights reserved for this news site dailymail and under his responsibility