Report: England MU21s 4-2 Portugal

England men's under-21s returned to winning ways with an entertaining 4-2 defeat of Portugal at the Hawthorns on Monday evening.

Hayden Hackney put England in front in the seventh minute when he drilled a low shot past Portugal keeper João Carvalho after intercepting an errant pass on the edge of the box.

And three minutes later debutant Ethan Nwaneri then marked his first start for the Young Lions with a superb curling effort, before Portuguese forward Fabio Silva pulled one back for his side.

England then extended their lead in the 76th-minute when Omari Hutchinson ghosted in at the far post to nod the ball into the net.

Though Tiago Forbes would secure a late consolation, Jaden Philogene would condemn the visitors to defeat with a precise finish into the bottom corner.

It seemed Portugal would enjoy the brighter start when Tiago Tomás forced a fine save from James Beadle just three minutes into proceedings.

Yet it would be the Young Lions who would roar ahead first when Hackney intercepted an errant ball before firing home.

Having grown into the game, the hosts doubled their lead when Nwaneri curled home a sublime strike to open his England account in style.

With England seemingly in the ascendancy, it looked like Hutchinson would be the next name on the scoresheet after catching Carvalho off his line, only to be denied by a last-ditch clearance from João Muniz.

Down the other end of the pitch, Portugal looked to wrestle back control of the game and halved the deficit when Silva tapped home from Rodrigo Pinheiro's byline cross.

Silva then looked to double his tally when he rounded an on-rushing Beadle before firing away, but the Wolverhampton Wanderers striker could only watch his effort clip the woodwork at the home of his club's local rivals.

The Young Lions were then forced into evasive once more minutes later, with Beadle this time coming to the rescue after parrying Tomás' low strike to ensure Lee Carsley's charges entered the break with a slender lead.

The restart saw England under siege again, with Joao Marques' strike from the edge of the box denied by the boot of Archie Gray, with the subsequent corner flicked onto the stanchion.

Having weathered the storm, the Young Lions looked to put distance between themselves and the visitors and came close when Adam Wharton fired into the arms of Carvalho after a mazy run from Philogene.

With momentum having swung back, England extended their advantage with less than fifteen minutes left on the clock through Hutchinson's header.

Though Portugal would strike back through substitute Tiago Forbes, that would be as good as it got for the visitors before Philogene put the finishing touches on the result.

England: 1. James Beadle (Sheffield Wednesday, on loan from Brighton and Hove Albion) 3 Charlie Cresswell (FC Toulouse) 4 Jarrad Branthwaite (Everton) 6 Hayden Hackney (Middlesbrough) 11 Omari Hutchinson (Ipswich Town) 12 Jack Hinshelwood (Brighton and Hove Albion) 14 Archie Gray (Tottenham Hotspur) 17 Samuel Iling-Junior (Middlesbrough, on loan from Aston Villa) 19 Harvey Elliott (Liverpool) 21 Ethan Nwaneri (Arsenal) 23 Jobe Bellingham (Sunderland)

Substitutes: 22 Teddy Sharman-Lowe (Doncaster Rovers, on loan from Chelsea) for Beadle 46', 10 James McAtee (Manchester City) for Elliott 61', 16 Alex Scott (AFC Bournemouth) for Hinshelwood 61', 15 CJ Egan-Riley (Burnley) for Branthwaite 62', 8 Elliot Anderson (Nottingham Forest) for Bellingham 70', 7 Jaden Philogene (Ipswich Town) for Iling-Junior 71', 9 Liam Delap (Ipswich Town) for Nwaneri 71', 20 Adam Wharton (Crystal Palace) for Hackney 71', 24 Ronnie Edwards (Queens Park Rangers, on loan from Southampton) for Cresswell 71',

Subs not used: 13. Tommy Simkin (Walsall, on loan from Stoke City) 2 Rico Lewis (Manchester City)

Goals: Hackney 7', Nwaneri 10', Hutchinson 76', Philogene 90+1'

Head coach: Lee Carsley

Portugal: 1 João Carvalho 2 Rodrigo Pinheiro 3 João Muniz 4 Eduardo Quaresma 5 Flávio Nazinho 7 Mateus Fernandes 10 Pedro Santos 11 Tiago Tomás 17 Diogo Nascimento 18 Gustavo Sá 20 Fábio Silva

Substitutes: 9 Henrique Araújo for Silva 46', 13 Francisco Chissumba for Nazinho 46', 14 Christian Marques for Quaresma 46', 16 Goncalo Nogueira for Sá 46', 24 Joelson Fernandes for Nascimento 46', 8 João Marques for Fernandes 46', 19 Carlos Forbs for Tomás 46', 12 Diogo Pinto for Carvalho 62', 21 Diego Moreira for Santos 77'

Subs not used: 23 Rodrigo Gomes

Goals: Silva 22', Forbs 85'

Head coach: Rui Jorge