Report: England MU21s 4-1 Moldova

England men's under-21s returned to winning ways as they comfortably beat Moldova 4-1 to maintain their unbeaten run in their UEFA EURO 2027 qualification campaign.

After drawing 1-1 with Andorra in their last match, a double from Ethan Nwaneri, Archie Gray’s emphatic finish and Romain Esse’s header settled the encounter at Norwich City’s Carrow Road after Moldova had levelled the tie through Vasile Luchita’s equaliser.

The result means Lee Carsley’s side remain top of Group D, now on 19 points – three points clear of Slovakia in second place.

England were quickest out of the traps in East Anglia, as Myles Lewis-Skelly tested Artur Nazarciuc early on while Tyler Dibling couldn’t connect properly with Samuel Amo-Ameyaw’s cross.

But the deadlock was soon broken as Lewis-Skelly had a shot saved after a superb turn and run, and Nwaneri, on loan at Marseille from Lewis Skelly's Arsenal, smartly turned the ball home.

The home side continued to press and saw Lewis-Skelly’s penalty claim turned down, before Jobe Bellingham bent his shot just wide of the far post.

Moldova grew into the half and enjoyed more of the ball than they had in the opening exchanges, but they created very little in terms of chances that worried Tommy Setford in England’s goal.

Their most promising moments saw Dan-Angelo Botan’s free kick turned behind by Dibling while Matteo Obleac’s shot was blocked.

But overall, despite the scoreline only reading 1-0 at the break, England completely dominated the opening 45 minutes with Lewis-Skelly and Amo-Ameyaw among those looking particularly dangerous.

The second half saw Moldova hit back on 48 minutes thanks to Luchita’s clever finish after substitute Cristian Antonciuc’s mazy run opened up England’s defence.

And it could've got even better for the visitors five minutes later, but Rico Lewis produced a crucial interception to stop Antonciuc’s pass finding an unmarked blue shirt through on goal.

After that warning sign, England upped the ante and restored their lead through Gray just after the hour mark, as the 20 year old Spurs star crashed the ball in off the underside of the crossbar after being teed up by Lewis following more excellent work by Dibling in the build-up.

Nwaneri almost grabbed his second of the evening when he found himself through on goal, but Nazarciuc was on hand to produce a crucial save.

But the forward wasn’t to be denied a double, as he found the net with a composed finish, after an excellent Lewis-Skelly assist, in the 73rd minute to give England a two-goal advantage.

Esse then came off the bench to net England’s fourth with a well-timed header - having seen his earlier effort chalked off for offside – to round off the scoring.

England’s next qualifier sees them take on Kazakhstan on 25 September.

England: 22 Tommy Setford (Arsenal), 8 Rico Lewis (Manchester City), 4 Josh Acheampong (Chelsea), 5 Ashley Phillips (Stoke City, loan from Tottenham Hotspur), 3 Myles Lewis-Skelly (Arsenal), 14 Archie Gray (Tottenham Hotspur), 7 Jobe Bellingham (Borussia Dortmund) (c), 10 Ethan Nwaneri (Marseille, loan from Arsenal), 20 Tyler Dibling (Everton), 17 Samuel Amo-Ameyaw (Strasbourg), 9 Divin Mubama (Stoke City, loan from Manchester City)

Substitutes: 11 Tyrique George (Everton) for Mubama 58’, 21 Romain Esse (Coventry City, loan from Crystal Palace) for Amo-Ameyaw 58’, 23 Sydie Peck (Sheffield United) for Nwaneri 74’, 18 Joshua King (Fulham) for Dibling 74, 19 Kellen Fisher (Norwich City) for Gray 78’,

Substitutes not used: 13 Tommy Simkin (Stoke City), 16 Thierry Small (Preston North End), 6 Max Alleyne (Manchester City), 15 Ben Nelson (Leicester City)

Goals: Nwaneri 11, 73, Gray 61, Esse 82

Head coach: Lee Carsley

Moldova: 1 Artur Nazarciuc, 3 Ivan Graminschii, 13 Leonard Saca, 5 Artiom Dijinari ©, 4 Matteo Obleac, 16 David Sirbu, 10 Mihai Lupan, 17 Ovidiu David, 8 Vasile Luchita, 11 Dan-Angelo Botan, 9 Nicolae Telic

Substitutes: 14 Cristian Antonciuc for Telic 46’, 19, Victor Ciumasu for Luchita 66’, 20 Nichita Caragheorghi for Botan 78’, 18 Vlad Colis for Graminschii 78’, 15 Vladislav Boico for David 86’,

Substitutes not used: 12 Roman Dumenco, 7 Lucian Radu, 6 Vladislav Costin, 2 Nichita Lipcan,

Goal: Luchita 48

Head coach: Serghei Cebotari