England U21s thrashed France 4-0 in a friendly at the King Power Stadium (Picture: Getty)
England U21 boss Lee Carsley hailed Arsenal star Emile Smith Rowe and Chelsea youngster Noni Madueke after the young Three Lions thrashed France 4-0 in a friendly at the King Power Stadium.
After a goalless opening 45 minutes, England asserted their authority with four second-half goals as Smith Rowe, Madueke, Curtis Jones and Jacob Ramsey all got on the scoresheet.
As well as scoring his first goal for England U21s, Chelsea January signing Madueke provided two assists to impress manager Carsley.
Madueke signed a seven-and-a-half year deal at Stamford Bridge at the start of 2023 after they spent £28.5m to sign him from PSV.
‘I thought he was excellent when he came on,’ former Premier League midfielder Carsley said. ‘Seeing him get that goal and two assists was really pleasing.
‘I think his style of play will really suit the Premier League. He’s exciting, fast, direct, and very versatile but what we have to remember is he is still young.
‘He is going to need time, match minutes, the time to work on his game but he has high potential.
New Chelsea star Noni Madueke opened his account for England U21 (Picture: Getty)
‘Like a lot of the younger players, he just needs an opportunity. They need opportunities to show that talent and given a run of games he will be fine.’
Carsley also heaped praise on Arsenal midfielder Smith Rowe, who has endured a frustrating season with injuries limiting him to just eight Premier League appearances.
His goal against France was his first of the 2022-23 campaign and Carsley said: ‘I really like Emile, he’s a player with massive potential.
‘I think he showed in patches tonight that he’s a top player, now he just needs minutes, to play games and trust his body to train and play at a high level.
Arsenal midfielder Emile Smith Rowe also got on the scoresheet (Picture: Getty)
‘He got about 65 minutes out there today, my plan will be that he gets more minutes on Tuesday.
‘I’ve always thought that he was a strong character, any player that goes through an academy like Arsenal, forces their way into the team and wears number ten for them has got unbelievable character, determination and desire.
‘That’s no mean feat, he deserves that because he’s a top talent, all he needs now is a run of games and that confidence and belief that his body’s capable of doing it.’
The England U21 team play one more game during this international break as they face Croatia at Craven Cottage on Tuesday night.
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England thumped France at the King Power Stadium.