Sunderland youngster Duncan Watmore came off the bench to have a hand in all three goals as England Under-21s defeated their Swiss rivals at the Amex Stadium on Monday night.
Watch more brilliant snippets like this with fanatix’s FREE sports video news app
Gareth Southgate’s men trailed after Shani Tarashaj had given the visitors the lead with a goal just before half time, and there were worrying signs for the home side as they looked second-best for the most part.
However, the introduction of Watmore was crucial as with 15 minutes remaining, the youngster won the penalty which James Ward-Prowse scored to level matters, before scoring the second himself prior to setting up Chuba Akpom for the third and final goal of the game.
The result ensures that England stay top of Group 9 having now opened up a sizeable gap over the Swiss, who will undoubtedly return home stunned with the result given that they will feel as though they played well enough for the majority of the game to earn something to show for their efforts.
Nevertheless, Southgate will be pleased with the reaction that he saw from his players in order to turn things around, and Watmore has certainly staked his claim for a bigger role with the Under-21s as well as earning more opportunities at club level.
The 21-year-old has already made five appearances in the Premier League this season and has scored twice in all competitions. It comes after finding the net five times in four outings at U21 level, and so it will be up to Sam Allardyce to determine whether or not the youngster leads his line in the coming weeks and months.
COMMENTS