Ethan Nwaneri delivered the response England Under-21s needed, scoring twice.
Ethan Nwaneri scored twice as England Under-21s returned to winning ways with an emphatic victory over Moldova at Carrow Road, delivering the kind of response that had been needed after a disappointing draw in Andorra.
Lee Carsley’s side had dropped points in a 1-1 draw on Friday, but there was no repeat here as England made it six wins from seven in Group D of their Under-21 Euros qualifying campaign.
Nwaneri was central to that recovery, with the Arsenal youngster scoring twice from chances created for him by club team-mate Myles Lewis-Skelly.
The first came in the 11th minute, putting England in control early on. Archie Gray added another before Vasile Luchita briefly gave Moldova hope with a fine goal in the 48th minute.
Any sense of jeopardy was short-lived, though, with Nwaneri’s second restoring England’s lead before Romain Esse struck late to complete a 4-1 win.
The performance also drew attention in France, due to Nwaneri’s loan with Marseille, where La Provence noted that Nwaneri had responded well after what it described as an embarrassing draw in Andorra and a slight injury.
The report said the winger, on loan from Arsenal and enjoying limited success with OM despite goals against Lens and Lille, had “highlighted himself” with his double and suggested it was reassuring before the trip to Monaco, where he could could come into the starting lineup due to suspension.
Elsewhere, Ceadach O’Neill scored the only goal for Northern Ireland’s u19s as they beat Kazakhstan.