Eddie Nketiah this evening etched his name into the history books of English goalscoring history.
Young Lions get the job done… Just
England’s U21s got their qualification campaign for the European Championships back underway a short time ago, in a meeting with Turkey at Molineux.
Aidy Boothroyd’s men sat comfortably atop the Group C table ahead of kick-off, having racked up 19 points from 7 outings.
Nevertheless, the hosts actually headed into proceedings in search of a bounce-back performance, having been held to a shock 3-3 draw by minnows Andorra last week.
And, though their performance once again left a lot to be desired, bounce back, in the end, was exactly what England managed.
The Young Lions took the lead in the clash with a little over a quarter of an hour on the clock, when Huseyin Turkmen put through his own net.
Aaron Ramsdale, meanwhile, kept the home side’s advantage intact shortly after the interval, getting down low to his left to keep out a Turkey penalty:
Access denied 🧤
Aaron Ramsdale saves from the spot to stop a Turkish equaliser!@England U21s still lead… pic.twitter.com/sw9XXEk88C
— Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) October 13, 2020
England’s victory was then all but secured two minutes from time, when Eddie Nketiah, after being slipped in by the impressive Ryan Sessegnon, slotted home at the near post in typically cool fashion.
The visitors did manage to pull one back in injury-time, but, when all was said and done, it proved little more than a consolation.
Nketiah makes history
As well as proving a key result in making mathematically sure of the country’s spot in the European Championships, meanwhile, England’s win over Turkey this evening also came as a significant one for one player in particular.
The individual, as outlined above, is Eddie Nketiah.
Highly-regarded hitman Nketiah’s strike tonight came as his 14th in the colours of England’s U21s (across just 12 appearances).
This marks the most goals that any player has ever managed to net for the Young Lions, breaking a tie with Alan Shearer and Francis Jeffers, and, in the process, etching Nketiah’s name into the history books of English international football:
The record-breaking moment 👏
Congratulations on becoming the #YoungLions‘ all-time leading goalscorer, @EddieNketiah9! pic.twitter.com/iejass6FKz
— England (@England) October 13, 2020
14 – Eddie Nketiah
13 – Alan Shearer, Francis Jeffers
11 – Saido Berahino
10 – Nathan Redmond
9 – Darren Bent, Frank LampardEddie Nketiah becomes England Under-21s’ highest ever goalscorer. pic.twitter.com/R5uJiScbjr
— bet365 (@bet365) October 13, 2020
