Liverpool’s Harvey Elliott stole the show at Goodison Park as England Under-21s cruised past Northern Ireland with a comfortable 3-0 victory. The talented midfielder showcased his class with a superb brace, taking his tally to five goals in Euro 2025 qualifying. His Liverpool teammate Tyler Morton, currently on loan at Hull, opened the scoring with his first goal for the Under-21s.

With this win, England finds themselves in second place in Group F, trailing Ukrаine by three points following Ukrаine’s 1-0 victory over Azerbaijan. The upcoming match between England and Ukrаine in October holds great significance as it could determine the group winner. In their recent encounter, England’s dominance was evident from the start, as they controlled the game against Northern Ireland. Everton’s Jarrad Branthwaite, serving as captain on his home turf, squandered an early opportunity, and England initially struggled to break through Northern Ireland’s resilient defense, led by Ruairi McConville and Michael Forbes.

Noni Madueke came close with a curling effort, and Jay Stansfield misfired a half-volley from Hayden Hackney’s cross, but clear-cut chances were scarce. However, after 31 minutes, Northern Ireland succumbed to the pressure. A misplaced cross from Madueke found its way to Morton on the edge of the area, and he calmly drilled the ball low into the corner to give England the lead.

From that point on, an England victory seemed almost certain. While missing the midfield dynamism of Cole Palmer and Rico Lewis, who were promoted to the senior squad, the team continued to dominate and press. Madueke and Jamie Bynoe-Gittens provided ample threаt on the flanks. In the 50th minute, Elliott extended England’s lead with a brilliant free-kιck. He was fouled by Terry Devlin just outside the box, but exacted reve𝚗ge by bending the resulting free-kιck into the bottom corner. England remained hungry for more, with Madueke denied by Josh Clarke as they sought a third goal.

It was Elliott who eventually sealed the victory with a delightful chip in the 80th minute. Running onto Morton’s pass, he exploited a gap in the Northern Ireland midfield and calmly lifted the ball over the onrushing Clarke. Elliott came close to completing a hat-trιck, but his attempt was thwarted by a fine save from Clarke.