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 4-1 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 the result and performance, with the Arsenal youngster scoring twice from chances created for him by Arsenal team-mate Myles Lewis-Skelly, who also impressed.
The first came in the 11th minute, putting England in control early on. Vasile Luchita briefly gave Moldova hope with a fine goal in the 48th minute but Archie Gray gave England the lead again in the 61st.
Nwaneri’s second, 12 minutes later, extended England’s lead before Romain Esse struck in the final 10 minutes to complete the win.
His performance also drew attention in France, due to Nwaneri’s loan with Marseille, where La Provence noted that the 19-year-old had responded well after a slight injury and what it described as an embarrassing draw in Andorra.
The report said the winger, enjoying limited success with OM after Roberto De Zerbi‘s departure, despite goals against Lens and Lille, had “highlighted himself” with his brace 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, Arsenal’s 17-year-old striker, scored the only goal for Northern Ireland‘s u19s as they beat Kazakhstan.