Jordan Spence skippered England to an impressive victory in the opening match of their bid to qualify for the 2009 UEFA European Under-19 Championship.
The West Ham United central defender, wearing the No5 shirt, was part of a resolute back-line at Doncaster's Keepmoat Stadium that provided a solid base for the Young Lions to score two unanswered goals - five minutes from the end of each half - to see off Bosnia-Herzegovina. Danny Rose headed a crucial first before Nile Ranger nodded in the second to confirm the victory.
Spence, who has captained his country at every youth level, was imperious throughout and England will have full confidence of claiming success in their next two qualifiers in a Group 6 mini-tournament they are hosting in Yorkshire. Brian Eastick's men take on Slovakia this Friday in Bradford before finishing their campaign against Scotland in Sheffield on Monday night.
The eight-nation finals are due to be held in Ukraine between 21 July and 2 August. As well as the hosts, Serbia, France and Spain have already qualified. James Tomkins and Freddie Sears featured for England in the 2008 UEFA European Under-19 Championship finals last summer, when club-mate Savio was voted player of the tournament for the champions Germany.
Elsewhere, Balint Bajner's Hungary finished bottom of their own Elite Round qualifying group.
The Hungarians lost 3-2 to Austria before beating Finland 2-0. However, a 1-0 defeat by Serbia in their final Group 1 fixture prevented Bajner and his team-mates from reaching the finals.
England: Jason Steele, Kieran Trippier, Joe Mattock, Matthew James, Jordan Spence (c), Martin Kelly, Andrew Tutte (Victor Moses 59), Daniel Drinkwater, Nathan Delfouneso (Marytn Waghorn 89), Nile Ranger, Daniel Rose (Dean Parrett 82)
Subs not used: Declan Rudd, Gavin Hoyte, Andros Townsend, Matthew Briggs