England U21 3 Scotland U21 1: Young Lions convincing in Euros pursuit
Boothroyd’s young guns swept the Auld Enemy aside with an outstanding display in stark contrast to the turgid fare dished up by the senior side, which saw fed-up fans resort to making paper aeroplanes to deal with the tedium as Southgate’s men huffed and puffed their way to next summer’s World Cup finals in Russia with victory over Slovenia at Wembley.
Under-21 manager Boothroyd said: “We’re going to a World Cup and so many big nations won’t get there or might not get there, so we’re delighted that Gareth got us over the line and it gave us a big boost going into this game. He’ll be the first person texting me to find out who did well and I’m sure we’ll speak soon.”
England took their latest step towards the Euro 2019 finals as they went top of group four with a two-goal winning margin which flattered the Scots. Tottenham midfielder Josh Onomah broke the deadlock with a stunning early long range effort when Scott McKenna’s clearing header from Trent Alexander-Arnold’ corner fell invitingly for the on-loan Aston Villa youngster.
Tammy Abraham could have had at least two goals before the interval as the Chelsea forward touched Dominic Solanke’s cross onto a post before seeing a close-range effort blocked on the line following an inviting knockback from Dael Fry, the Middlesbrough defender revelling on home soil.