Cole Palmer netted a fine goal, and Noni Madueke and Malo Gusto joined the attacker in registering assists, as England and France’s Under-21 teams got their respective European Championship qualifying campaigns off to a great start.
In a 3-0 win away to Luxembourg, Palmer played the 90 minutes for the Young Lions, mostly in the no.10 role, with Madueke featuring for all but the final quarter-hour on the right flank.
England dominated the first half but were made to wait to break the deadlock. Palmer saw an inswinging wide free-kick of his parried to safety by the home side’s goalkeeper, and another shot from the edge of the box deflected a whisker over the bar.
Madueke also went close with a trademark curling effort having cut inside on to his left foot. Several other good chances came and went, including an attempted lob by Palmer, before Lee Carsley’s Young Lions went ahead.
Madueke and Palmer combined to good effect inside a congested penalty area and our new signing threaded a ball through to his former Man City team-mate Liam Delap, who poked the ball into the net on his Under-21s debut.
England doubled their lead shortly before the hour mark and it was Madueke who recorded the assist for Callum Doyle to score. Then came Palmer’s brilliant strike.
Sub Jamie Bynoe-Gittens laid the ball off for Palmer, 16 yards out, and he swept a handsome first-time finish into the net via the underside of the crossbar.
Madueke was withdrawn on 76 minutes as the game meandered to a close with England in complete control, and Palmer in a deeper central midfield position.
England Under-21s host Serbia and play an away qualifier against Ukraine in the next batch of internationals.
In another Euro Under-21 qualifier, Gusto and Lesley Ugochukwu played the full 90 minutes for France as they began their campaign with a 4-0 victory in Slovenia.
The Chelsea duo were selected by Thierry Henry having also featured from the off in Thursday’s friendly win over Denmark.
Les Espoirs survived a couple of scares but headed into the interval ahead courtesy of Bradley Barcola’s fine finish.
Two goals inside seven second-half minutes ended the game as a contest, and Gusto was involved in both. First, he added impetus to a nice team move after collecting a pass from Ugochukwu, and then the right-back supplied a perfect cross for Barcola to volley into the top corner from close range.
France added a late fourth with both our young Bleus still on the pitch. They play Bosnia and Herzegovina and Cyprus next month.