The midfielder produced a stunning solo goal during his full debut for England Under-21s. He scored in their thrilling 4-2 friendly win over Portugal at The Hawthorns. Monday, 24 March 2025 match established a record-setting home atmosphere with an early 14,783 enthusiastic fans on hand. What they saw was a complete performance from Lee Carsley’s young side. England’s Nwaneri capped off an incredible win with long-range goals by Hayden Hackney, Omari Hutchinson and Jaden Philogene. This victory was a triumphant comeback after their shocking loss to France earlier that week.
The final opened to a dramatic start with England taking the lead in just the 3rd minute! It started in the 7th minute, when Hayden Hackney jumped an errant pass. He got things going by opening the scoring as Portugal attempted to play out from the back. Hackney took the chance and shot from distance – his second goal at The Hawthorns this campaign. Just three minutes later, Ethan Nwaneri doubled England’s advantage, netting his first goal for the Under-21s.
Portugal got one back in the 22nd minute when Fabio Silva cut the lead in half. England did not let their heads drop and kept setting the agenda offensively. Omari Hutchinson made sure of the win in the second half when he doubled the lead, netting England’s third goal. CJ Egan-Riley had a heads-up play to direct that corner directly toward Hutchinson. This put Hutchinson in the perfect position to head the ball into the net from close range.
Portugal fought back as the match wore on, and Carlos Forbs netted the equalizer with only five minutes left. This exciting play tied the game at 3-2. Even with this last-minute comeback from Portugal, England’s Jaden Philogene clinched the win for his team, netting a goal in added time. That was Philogene’s fourth goal for the Under-21s, a goal that capped a perfect night’s work for England.
Lee Carsley had rung the changes after England’s 5-3 defeat to France on Friday night. That made the nine changes to the starting XI look like they had made the right call as England controlled the whole game. The fresh-faced team showed poise and presence under pressure, netting a statement-making win against a superior team.
Leave a Reply