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Chelsea youngster Loftus-Cheek the standout as England U21s cruise in Coventry

Ruben Loftus-Cheek masterminded a 3-0 win for the England U21 side in Euro2017 qualifying on Tuesday.


The Chelsea midfielder scored the first goal and pulled all the strings as Gareth Southgate's Young Lions easily accounted for Kazakhstan at the Ricoh Arena in Coventry.

Loftus-Cheek fired England into the lead in the 53rd minute when captain James Ward-Prowse's free-kick was not properly cleared before Nathan Redmond added a second just over 15 minutes later.

The Norwich City winger was the recipient of a sublime 60-yard pass from Sunderland's Preston North End loanee keeper Jordan Pickford before advancing goal-ward and slotting beyond Kazakh gloveman Stanislav Pavlov.

The contest was wrapped up when debutant Chuba Akpom, who is on loan at Hull City from Arsenal, slotted home with the final touch of the game.

The win has England sitting third in Group 9 of qualifying for the UEFA tournament, just a point behind Norway who have had played two more matches.

Southgate's team now prepares for the trip to Sarajevo to take on Bosnia & Herzegovina in November having saluted in their opening two qualifying fixtures.

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Andrew Slevison
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