It was Lee Carsley’s side’s first home fixture since winning the Euros this summer, and they treated the healthy crowd at the City Ground in Nottingham to a masterclass, despite going 1-0 down.

In the absence of the injured Taylor Harwood-Bellis, Palmer donned the armband. Madueke lined up on the right wing with Palmer more central and another Blue, Humphreys, at left-back.

England had already had a glut of chances to score when Serbia took a shock lead shortly before the half-hour, but three goals in nine minutes was the least the Young Lions deserved for their first-half dominance.

3-1 at the break became 6-1 by 63 minutes, with Madueke responsible for the first two of those three goals.

The winger dropped his shoulder twice on the edge of the box to wrongfoot a host of Serbian defenders before firing a pinpoint low finish throw several bodies.

Then, on 59 minutes, Madueke won the ball back, latched on to a Rico Lewis backheel and calmly placed the ball into the bottom left-hand corner. It was another sumptuous effort.

Madueke was withdrawn on 68 minutes, with Palmer, who showed plenty of nice touches throughout, taken off not long after half-time with what looked like a dead leg.

Humphreys completed the game as the Young Lions took a big step forward in qualification from Group F. They play Ukraine, in Slovakia, on Monday.

Formerly known as England Under-20s, the England Elite League squad lost 2-0 to Romania in Bucharest.

Lewis Hall and Mason Burstow both started for former Chelsea coach Joe Edwards’ side, but two early goals did the damage despite England dominating possession.

The England Elite League squad is open to players born between 1 January 2002 and 31 December 2004. England will play against Portugal, Italy, Germany, Czechia, Poland and Netherlands in forthcoming international breaks.

There were six Chelsea players in England Under-18s’ starting XI as they drew 1-1 with Belgium in Marbella in a pre-World Cup friendly.

Ted Curd, Josh Acheampong, Harrison Murray-Campbell, Ishe Samuels-Smith, Reiss Denny and Jimmy-Jay Morgan all got the nod from Ryan Garry, with the five outfielders withdrawn during the second half. They play again on Saturday afternoon as preparations continue for next month’s Under-17 World Cup in Indonesia.

Shumaira Mheuka scored and got an assist in England Under-17s’ 3-0 win over Norway on Wednesday. The striker rounded off the scoring with a fine close-range finish, having earlier seen a shot saved and then converted on the rebound by team-mate Shea Lacey.

Chelsea's Ollie Harrison played the full game in midfield, with the two sides set to meet again on Friday.

Young Academy defender Harry McGlinchey played the full game in Cork as Ireland’s Under-17s made light work of their Armenian counterparts.

It finished 4-0 in the European Championship qualifier with McGlinchey deployed at left-back. Ireland now play Iceland on Saturday and Switzerland on Tuesday.