Max Dowman came off the bench to become the England u21s’ youngest-ever player on Friday, with Tommy Setford and Ethan Nwaneri also featuring in the match.
Arsenal youngster Max Dowman made his England u21 debut in a friendly match against Portugal on Friday night, coming on as a substitute for the final half-hour of the match.
Gunners loanees Tommy Setford and Ethan Nwaneri had started the match, and Setford unfortunately took a large share of the blame for Portugal’s opening goal.
Afonso Moreira squeezed a shot under the Arsenal loan goalkeeper from a tight angle. Setford’s initial hand to the ball might possibly have kept it out, but the subsequent deflection off his own body saw the effort squirm over the line.
Setford made up for the error later in the match, with an excellent reaction save from a deflected effort that had initially sent him the wrong way. But the headlines were always going to revolve around Dowman’s introduction.
At 16 years, 10 months, and 13 days old, Dowman became the England u21s’ youngest-ever player, breaking Jude Bellingham’s record.
The Arsenal youngster was unfortunate not to immediately become the England u21s’ youngest-ever assist provider, as he played an excellent ball through to Mikey Moore, who couldn’t take the chance when through on the goalkeeper.
Dowman created a couple more opportunities after that, and England’s match report suggested he was a big reason for the momentum of the fixture swinging in the hosts’ favour. Unfortunately, the match nonetheless finished 1-0 to Portugal.
The England u21s have another friendly match coming up against France on Monday, November 16th, to be played at the same venue in Bristol at 19:30 GMT.
Dowman and his on-loan Arsenal teammates will be hoping to bounce back with a win in that game.
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