England U21 vs Bosnia and Herzegovina U21. European Under-21 Championship Qualifying Group I.
Bescot StadiumAttendance5,263.
Tuesday 11 October 2016 18:47, UK
Tammy Abraham scored twice as England U21s finished their European Championship qualification campaign with a 5-0 victory over Bosnia-Herzegovina at Walsall’s Banks's Stadium.
Aidy Boothroyd's side, who had already qualified for next summer's tournament in Poland, opened the scoring in the 14th minute through John Swift, before Abraham - making his first start - added a second four minutes later.
The hosts extended their advantage immediately after the break with Josh Onomah (49) scoring on debut and the lively Duncan Watmore (62) getting himself on the scoresheet after being played in on goal by man of the match Jack Grealish.
In-form Bristol City striker Abraham added his second of the afternoon in the 68th minute to round off an impressive performance from Boothroyd's men, who remained unbeaten throughout the qualification campaign.
With England already qualified for the European Championships, Boothroyd, who is in interim charge of the U21s with Gareth Southgate leading the senior team, took the opportunity to rotate his squad, making nine changes from the side that won 1-0 in Kazakhstan to seal qualification last Thursday.
And the changes did not seem to affect the side, who were ahead inside 15 minutes with Swift firing the ball past Keenan Piric and into the top corner from the edge of the area.
The hosts were in full control and they doubled their advantage four minutes later when Onomah forced Piric into a smart save but Abraham pounced on the rebound to score his first goal for the U21s.
Bosnia-Herzegovina, who finished bottom of Group 9, were firmly on the back foot and Watmore had two opportunities in quick succession to get on the scoresheet, firing over in the 31st minute before being denied by Piric.
The visitors barely threatened but they nearly pulled a goal back just before the break when Armin Cerimagic looked to bend the ball beyond Christian Walton, but the goalkeeper managed to tip the ball over the crossbar.
England's dominance continued after the break and they added a four fourth four minutes after the restart and it was Onomah, who fired into the bottom corner to score his first goal for the U21s.
Sunderland striker Watmore again went close in the 55th minute and he finally got on the scoresheet seven minutes later, latching onto Grealish's through ball before calmly stroking the ball into the bottom corner.
Watmore turned provider in the 68th minute, threading the ball through to Abraham, who produced a brilliant chipped finish to score his second of the afternoon and round off an extremely impressive performance from Boothroyd's side.
