Ruben Loftus-Cheek scored twice for England Under-21s in their confidence-boosting 4-0 win over Denmark Under-21s at AutoC Park Randers this evening.
The Young Lions put their flat display last time out in Germany behind them to earn a first victory in three, with a number of the second-string players doing plenty to win over new boss Aidy Boothroyd.
England's straightforward triumph in Scandinavia came at just the right time, this being both teams' final outing prior to heading off for the U21 Euro 2017 finals in June.
Prior to making the breakthrough, John Swift had half a chance to open his account but could only direct debutant Sam McQueen's cross wide of the target.
England were well into their groove by that point and did not have to wait too much longer for the first of Loftus-Cheek's goals, with the Chelsea midfielder side-footing the ball past Jeppe Hojbjerg into the bottom corner.
Five-and-a-half minutes later the visitors had a second, this time from longer range after Solly March was given time and space to get a shot away at goal on his rare start, seeing the ball take a slight nick on its way through.
Christian Norgaard came close with a deft touch up the other end as an underwhelming Denmark slowly started to grow into things, but it took until the 45-minute mark for their first shot on target as Lasse Vigen Christensen was kept out by Angus Gunn.
There is no doubt that England were good value for their two-goal advantage at the break, though, with Cauley Woodrow and McQueen - the latter with a miscued cross - also testing Hojbjerg.
The one blemish for the Young Lions was the departure of their only survivor from the 1-0 loss to Germany in midweek, with the impressive Jacob Murphy making way just before the whistle sounded for the interval - an injury expected to be the reason behind that first change.
It was a slow start to the second period for both sides, with the next opening of any sort arriving shortly before the hour when, similar to Loftus-Cheek's opener, Lucas Andersen looked to pick his spot but was denied by the young stopper.
Woodrow got his name on the scoresheet soon after by scoring his third goal at this level from the corner he won, turning home a Kortney Hause knockdown to make certain of the resounding win.
There was more to come for England, too, as Loftus-Cheek added his second and the visitors' fourth by turning on the edge of the box and shooting past Hojbjerg, making the most of the space being afforded to him time and time again.
Norgaard had another shot kept out for the visitors in the remaining minutes and Swift sent one narrowly over at the other end, as England picked up a timely win against a side they could meet a little over two months from now in Poland.
Daniel Lewis
