England U21 vs Andorra U21. European Under-21 Championship Qualifying Group D.
Proact StadiumAttendance7,147.
Reiss Nelson scores on debut as Phil Foden also impresses
Thursday 11 October 2018 22:21, UK
England U21s sealed their place at the 2019 U21 European Championships in style after a dazzling 7-0 win against Andorra U21s.
Ademola Lookman (8) netted his first England U21 goal and the first of the game early on, before Ezri Konsa doubled the lead 19 minutes later at the Proact Stadium.
Dominic Calvert-Lewin scored either side of half-time, tapping into an empty net (45+1) before scoring from the penalty spot (49) after Konsa was pulled down in the area by Claudio Bove.
A late onslaught from England added to their tally, with Dominic Solanke (81) adding the fifth before Reiss Nelson scored on his U21 debut (90+2). The evening was rounded off with an own goal from Christian Garcia (90+4) as England cruised to Euro qualification with a game to spare.
England wasted no time in taking the lead. After Tom Davies found Jonjoe Kenny down the right flank, the full-back picked out fellow Everton team-mate Lookman in the area who glided past two Andorra defenders before sweeping home.
Andorra goalkeeper Francisco Pires made some good saves in the first half and looked to have done so again in the build-up to England's second goal, pushing away a volley from Lewis Cook after Phil Foden picked him out at the top of the area, but Konsa came striding in at the back post to slot the ball home on the angle.
A wonderful, curling effort from Foden - that just skimmed the side netting - looked to be the last chance for England in the half, but Calvert-Lewin added a third in the first minute of added time. Pires came off his line to smother a forward pass but Lookman got there first, passing the ball through the legs of Aleix Viladot before Calvert-Lewin tapped home into an empty net.
The Everton forward added his second just after the break when Konsa was fouled in the area by Bove, with the referee instantly pointing to the spot. Calvert-Lewin made no mistake from the penalty spot as he sent the ball hammering high into the net.
It took a while for the fifth to come England's way, but it opened the floodgates. Foden - who was superb on his U21s debut - slotted the ball through the middle for Solanke, allowing the Liverpool striker to round the oncoming Pires before sweeping home into another empty goal.
Two minutes into the four added on Nelson capped off his own debut with a fine goal. He had been brilliant since coming on as a substitute and as Davies put the ball into his path, he chipped it over Pires - who had again come off his line - and saw the effort glide over the line.
England's seventh came from the final kick of the game. Davies once again found Nelson - this time with a diagonal pass into the area - with the latter squaring the ball for Solanke. The forward got a toe to it to send the ball past Pires, with it ricocheting off defender Garcia and into the back of the net.
It was a wonderful performance from the forward, and with plenty of talent from Everton on the field, he would no doubt have caught the eye of Marco Silva. His goal was well taken and he continued to link up well with the players around him and set up Calvert-Lewin for his first goal.
When given the chance, Lookman can really show what a top class player he is, and Thursday's performance can only stand him in good stead for upcoming domestic fixtures.
It's a huge game for England next as they take on Scotland U21s on Tuesday at Tynecastle in another qualifier for the 2019 U21 European Championships.
