Emile Smith Rowe won Player of the Match and score the winning goal for the 10-man England u21s on Monday against Andorra.

Having slipped up and squandered a two-goal lead to draw against Slovenia in their first game of the international break, the England u21s couldn’t settle for anything other than a win against Andorra on Monday.

That wasn’t expected to be a big ask, particularly as Andorra had zero points from their first four games going into the fixture. But the job was made much more difficult when Rhian Brewster was sent off in the 55th minute.

Suddenly, England were at risk of dropping points once again, before Emile Smith Rowe finished off a rapid counter-attack in the 67th minute.

Following an Andorra corner, Liverpool’s Curtis Jones raced down the pitch, with Smith Rowe at full pelt to get in position ahead of him. Jones timed his through-ball well, and Smith Rowe took one touch to get it under control before slotting it past the keeper.

Emile Smith Rowe scores for England U21s.

Rapid break, calm finish. pic.twitter.com/ph7r0T7GMH

— Charles Watts (@charles_watts) October 11, 2021

England managed to grind out the 1-0 win, and Smith Rowe was substituted for Arsenal teammate Folarin Balogun in the 90th minute.

Smith Rowe was subsequently awarded the Player of the Match award by England for his performance. He joins Arsenal first-teamers Bukayo Saka, Thomas Partey, Nuno Tavares, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, and Nicolas Pepe in scoring over the break.