The Young Lions sealed their place in the Toulon Tournament final to move one step closer to retaining their title with a 3-0 victory over Scotland.
Three well-taken goals including a brace from Harvey Barnes and a cute finish from Elliot Embleton proved enough to stretch England’s run to five wins out of five in the 2017 edition of this famous competition in Provence.
And Neil Dewsnip’s side did it in style, by controlling possession from the start and were rewarded for their efforts when Barnes found time on the ball.
As he drove forward, he unleashed a low shot from the edge of the box which nestled into the bottom left corner to give England an early advantage in the seventh minute.
A couple of minutes later, the Young Lions nearly doubled their lead as Barnes found Embleton and when his shot in the box was blocked, Ike Ugbo had a chance to finish from close range but Scotland’s keeper Ruddy somehow prevented it from going in.
But as Scotland tried to find that all-important equaliser in the second half, it was England who got a second through Sunderland midfielder Embleton, who confidently struck home after receiving a pass from David Brooks on the right.
A third goal arrived after 65 minutes, as Leicester City’s Barnes got his second with a fine finish. Collecting the ball on the left, he bore down to the edge of the box before curling a shot into the bottom corner to put a seal on the victory.
At the other end, Ryan Schofield in the England goal was called into action for the first time a few minutes later when he collected Ryan Hardie’s header.
Barnes nearly got his hat-trick minutes before the full-time whistle, but his shot hit the side netting of the left-hand post.
The final is in familiar territory in Aubagne on Saturday (4.30pm) when England will face Ivory Coast following their semi-final win over Czech Republic.
England: 1 Ryan Schofield (Huddersfield Town), 2 Reece James (Chelsea), 3 Josh Grant (Chelsea), 4 Joshua Tymon (Hull City), 5 Joseph Worrall (Nottingham Forest) (c), 8 Harvey Barnes (Leicester City), 9 Demetri Mitchell (Manchester United), 11 Ronaldo Vieira (Leeds United), 14 Elliot Embleton (Sunderland), 18 David Brooks (Sheffield United), 20 Ike Ugbo (Chelsea)
Substitutes: 17 George Hirst (Sheffield Wednesday) for Ugbo 63, 15 Daniel Kemp (West Ham United) for Brooks 67
Substitutes not used: 13 Ellery Balcombe (Brentford), 6 Elliott Moore (Leicester City), 7 Japhet Tanganga (Tottenham Hotspur), 10 Callum Slattery (Southampton), 12 Tariq Uwakwe (Chelsea), 16 Luke Bolton (Manchester City), 19 Martell Taylor-Crossdale (Chelsea)
Head Coach: Neil Dewsnip
Goals: Barnes 7, 65, Embleton 51
