Liverpool striker Dominic Solanke was among the scorers as the England U21s enjoyed a 3-1 European U21 qualifier win over Scotland on Friday.
Aidy Boothroyd’s side took on their age-old rivals in Middlesbrough as they continue their push for a place in Italy and San Marino in 2019.
Having drawn with the Netherlands and beaten Latvia in their opening two qualifiers in Group 4 in September, the Young Lions hoped for similar success at Riverside.
And Boothroyd had called up four Liverpool players in Solanke, captain Joe Gomez, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Sheyi Ojo, only for the latter to pull out of his squad due to injury.
Without Ojo, however, the Reds were fully represented in the England starting lineup on Friday night, with Gomez at centre-back, Alexander-Arnold at right-back and Solanke in the No. 10 role.
Scotland took a conservative approach away from home, sitting back and looking to launch long balls up to West Brom winger Oliver Burke on the break.
But, more often than not, this saw them pinned back by England, with Alexander-Arnold impressive out wide and Solanke interchanging with the likes of Tammy Abraham and Dominic Calvert-Lewin.
It was Tottenham midfielder Josh Onomah who opened the scoring, sending an excellent dipping volley over ex-Liverpool goalkeeper Ryan Fulton.
Abraham was a threat throughout, almost netting after a brilliant corner from Alexander-Arnold, and the striker got himself on the scoresheet with a second-half penalty.
Despite a strong performance at the back, Gomez will have been disappointed as he allowed a lofted ball to loop over his head on the way to Chris Cadden reducing the deficit.
But Solanke restored England’s lead, and rubber-stamped the win, with a tap-in just over a minute later.
The U21s’ next outing comes away to Andorra on Tuesday evening, and Liverpool’s trio of Young Lions will be hoping to keep their place in Boothroyd’s side.
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