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European Under-21s Championship | Qualifiers

Oct 13, 2015 at 5.45pm UK

England U21s England Under-21s
3-0
Kazakhstan U21s Kazakhstan Under-21s

Loftus-Cheek (53'), Redmond (70'), Akpom (94')

FT(HT: 0-0)

England Under-21s ease past Kazakhstan

By Callum Mulvihill, Reporter | 13 October 2015

Goals from Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Nathan Redmond guide England Under-21s to a 3-0 victory over Kazakhstan in their European Championship qualifying clash.

England Under-21s have made it back-to-back wins in European Championship qualifying by easing to a 3-0 victory over Kazakhstan at the Ricoh Arena.

Gareth Southgate watched his side earn a 1-0 victory over Norway in their Group 9 opener last month, and they were comfortable on the way to picking up a second win in their bid to reach the 2017 tournament.

Chuba Akpom of England celebrates his goal with Duncan Watmore during the European Under 21 Qualifier match between England U21 and Kazakhstan U21 at Ricoh Arena on October 13, 2015 © Getty Images

Kazakhstan looked unable to cope with England in the early stages as the hosts took control from the first whistle, with James Ward-Prowse firing over from the edge of the box before debutant Chuba Akpom struck the post a few moments later.

A goal in the first half appeared inevitable as Southgate's side continued to threaten with their pace going forward, but they were denied once again when Ruben Loftus-Cheek cut inside to force Stanislav Pavlov into a fine low save.

Kazakhstan battled impressively to make life difficult for England's attack, but the visitors enjoyed another slice of luck when Loftus-Cheek headed wide from space in the box.

It was the Chelsea midfielder who finally broke the deadlock early in the second half as Kazakhstan failed to clear a Ward-Prowse free kick, which allowed Loftus-Cheek to fire home.

Ruben Loftus-Cheek of England is congratulated on his goal during the European Under 21 Qualifier match between England U21 and Kazakhstan U21 at Ricoh Arena on October 13, 2015 © Getty Images

Despite their dominance, England were almost shocked when the away side broke clear with Didar Zhalmukan, but he missed his side's only clear chance as Jordan Pickford made a crucial stop.

England pulled clear with just over 20 minutes remaining, and Pickford managed to claim an assist with a superb long ball to Nathan Redmond, who came in from the right wing to beat two defenders before finding the bottom corner.

It could have been an even more comfortable win had Loftus-Cheek doubled his tally late on when his effort came back off the underside of the crossbar after Kazakhstan once again struggled to clear the danger.

Substitute Duncan Watmore was a lively addition off the bench and he almost created a third with clever footwork in the box before seeing a low effort stopped by Pavlov's foot.

The icing of the cake would arrive in stoppage time as Dominic Iorfa sprinted into space on the right wing and delivered a low cross to give Akpom the easy task of tapping in at the back post as Southgate's side cruised to three points.