Wednesday February 29, 2012 Qualification Finished
England U-21 4 - 0 Belgium U21
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England U21s dismantle Belgium
England U21 thrashed Belgium U21 4-0 at the Riverside in Middlesbrough to take a big step towards the European Championship. More
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Live Commentary
Time:90'- England U-21
- Belgium U21
90+5' That's the final kick of the game, and it rounds off a perfect night for manager Brian Eastwick.
90+4' GOAL! Oxlade-Chamberlain takes the penalty himself, and drills it into the right corner beyond Casteels!
90+3' PENALTY! Oxlade-Chamberlain robs his man, drives into the box and is brought down by Boyata!- 90+1' Great save by Butland! Jens Naessens runs clean through on goal, Butland stands his ground and nicks the ball as the striker tries to round him. Great stuff.
- 90' Three minutes of stoppage time to be played.
- 88' This result will move England seven points clear in Group 8, and the have all but secured top spot and a place in the play-offs for Israel in 2012. Norway have two games in hand and are eight points behind.
- 86' This game is rather petering out, but it's a satisfying evening for England nonetheless.
- 84' Stephen Kelly makes a decent clearance, putting the ball behind for a corner.
83' Final change for Belgium as Guillaume Francois comes on for Badibanga.- 82' England: Manchester United's Will Keane comes on for Marvin Sordell.
- 80' Badibanga has a shot from 20 yards, curls it towards the bottom right corner and Butland makes a decent save.
- 78' Tonight's attendance is 22,647. Well played. And a good match to boot.
- 77' England-Netherlands is under way in about 25 minutes - you can follow all the coverage with us. England v Netherlands: LIVE
- 76' Fifteen minutes to go, and England are on the way to victory here.
- 74' England sub: Gary Gardner replaces Lansbury.
- 73' ...pacy outswinging delivery on the corner, and Butland does well to punch it away.
- 72' Belgium win a corner on the right, De Pauw to take it....
- 70' Good goalkeeping by Jack Butland! Nill De Pauw races through on goal, but the keeper stands tall and makes a good stop!
- 68' I missed a Belgian change a couple of minutes ago - Lamisha Musonda comes on for Gianni Bruno.
- 67' But first a change: Wilfried Zaha makes way for Jonjo Shelvey.
- 66' England win their 12th corner, and yet again it will be Lansbury to deliver.
- 65' Lansbury delivers an outswinging corner from the England right... this time Belgium dela with it effectively.
- 63' Wayward shot at goal from Oxlade-Chamberlain, who is nevertheless scaring the life out of Belgium.
- 62' Belgium make a change, introducing Jens Naessens for Meunier. The new man is a striker, so we could see a more attacking formation from the Belgians.
- 60' Burno gets clear down the left channel, but Rose chases him down and challenges the Belgian as he gets his shot away... it goes wide.
- 59' Tantalising cross from Rose on the left, which bounces inches in front of the hat-trick-hunting Lansbury.
- 57' Oxlade-Chamberlain drives through the middle again. The only criticism I have of him is that he's very one-footed. His left really is just for standing on.
- 55' Rose races down the left flank and pulls the ball back into the box... headed clear.
- 54' Phil Neville has joined England's coaching staff for this game and he looks well pleased - England three goals to the good and on course for the play-offs.
- 53' GOAL! It's three! Henri Lansbury's second of the game! Zaha controls a headed clearance, turns into crossing position and drills a low cross that Lansbury turns past Casteels!
- 52' Zaha beats De Bock and appears to be clearly fouled as he races past the defender - but the referee says no foul! Strange decision, that one.
- 51' Belgium are doing OK, but they have not tested Jack Butland yet. They need more penetration.
- 49' England free-kick on the right side - swung in left-footed by McEachran, but Casteels makes a decent catch.
- 48' Bruno laces a shot from 30 yards, but it is straight into the body of a defender.
- 47' No personnel changes from either coach at half-time. Brian Eastick will be delighted at how things are going for England.
46' Second half under way - England kick off.- 45+1' That's half-time, and England are looking good. They are putting themselves in a very strong position in group eight.
- 45' Just a minute of stoppage time to be played.
- 44' De Pauw fouls Sordell and England launch the free-kick forward... headed clear.
- 43' CHANCE FOR BENTEKE! Badibanga crosses superbly from the Belgian right, the striker arrives and he guides his header just wide of the far post! Should have scored.
- 41' The visitors are showing some signs of life here as they seek a way back into the game. But it looks like a long way back from 2-0 down.
- 40' Better from Belgium as the ball is chipped inside for Christian Benteke, who declines the option of a first-time shot, tries to chest it down and is crowded out.
- 38' Ziguy Badibanga plays it into the England box, but the home side are back in numbers and clear.
- 36' This is unfolding perfectly for caretaker coach Brian Eastick - England two goals to the good and apparently cruising at the moment.
- 35' GOAL!! England are two up! A corner is drifted in from the right, Dawson heads it on and Caulker nods it past Casteels into the Belgian net!
- 33' Henderson plays a nice through ball to Oxlade-Chamberlain, and De Bock puts it out for a corner.
- 32' Elsewhere around Europe, Germany are a goal to the good against Greece, while Scotland and the Netherlands are drawing 0-0.
- 30' The noise level has dropped a little at the Riverside - a slight lull in proceedings.
- 28' Meunier crosses from the Belgium right... it's headed clear by Caulker and the visitors have a throw.
- 27' England getting plenty of joy down the flanks... Zaha wins another corner on the left side.
- 25' Oxlade-Chamberlain burns down the right flank and his cross deflects out for a corner.
- 24' That's a rash tackle by Craig Dawson, who flies in on Thibaut Van Acker - referee Liran Liany settles for a yellow card but it could very well have been a red.
- 22' Good break from England. Sordell feeds Oxlade-Chamberlain who attempts a Neymar-style dragback but loses possession to Boyata.
- 21' Here's Badibanga's 'do: click here.
- 20' Belgian left winger Ziguy Badibanga has a tremendous head of hair on him.
- 19' Belgium are playing fairly well - we've definitely got a game on our hands.
- 17' Lansbury has another shot, firing low towards the right corner, but Casteels is equal to it. Corner.
- 16' Josh McEachran delivers a corner from the England right... it is too deep and a Belgian defender shepherds it out for a throw.
- 14' Belgium put together their best move of the match, which culminates in Thomas Meunier blasting wide.
- 13' Another low cross fizzes in from the England box, but neither Lansbury nor Zaha can make meaningful contact.
- 12' Poor touch by Lansbury inside the box as he attempts to turn - he puts the ball out for a goal kick.
- 11' Oxlade-Chamberlain sprints past De Bock but there is another Belgian defender on hand to intercept.
- 10' Incredible stuff from Henri Lansbury. Don't know if it was meant to be a shot, and it possibly took a slight deflection, but let's give the boy some credit... That travelled about 60 yards into the top-right corner.
- 9' GOAL!! Henri Lansbury with an extraordinary goal for England! He fires the ball in from the left touchline and it swirls over Casteels into the far corner!
- 7' High cross from the England left by Zaha - Lansbury makes a good leap but cannot direct his header goalwards.
- 5' Oxlade-Chamberlain runs at Bruno down the England left, but he declines to cross left-footed, cuts back and loses possession.
- 4' Meunier runs at Rose, who puts the ball behind for the first corner of the game.
- 3' Danny Rose makes good progress down the left flank but sends his cross out for a goal kick.
- 2' Slow start, Belgium on the ball, passing it around patiently.
1' Belgium kick off, playing from left to right wearing a black strip with red and yellow trim.- 17:57 Has there ever been a more neatly coiffured pair of England captains than Jordan Henderson and Scott Parker? I very much doubt it.
- 17:55 Out come the teams, and England are of course wearing their new kit, as revealed by one J. Barton.
- 17:55 A decent turnout at the Riverside - over 17,000 tickets were sold in advance, plus walk-up sales.
- 17:50 A big night for Jordan Henderson, who had a bit of a mare in the Carling Cup final on Sunday and is enduring a difficult season for Liverpool. He captains England tonight.
- 17:45 The Belgian team could be a good deal stronger but for a number of young players in the senior squad - Thibaut Courtois, Eden Hazard, Kevin De Bruyne and Romelu Lukaku among them. Lukaku's brother Jordan is on the bench.
- 17:40 Some pre-match reading from Jim White, who says Stuart Pearce's passion is no adequate solution for England's problems. Jim White blog
- 17:35 This game is a qualifier for next summer's Euro U21s in Israel. A win tonight will guarantee England top spot and a place in the play-offs. Group 8 standings
- 17:30 There are plenty of familiar faces in that England team, but one lesser-known player is goalkeeper Jack Butland. He's 18, he's on the books at Birmingham and he is currently in his second spell on loan at Cheltenham Town. This is his sixth England U21 appearance.
- 17:25 ENGLAND: Butland, Kelly, Rose, McEachran, Caulker, Dawson, Chamberlain, Henderson (c), Sordell, Lansbury, Zaha... Subs: Steele, Smith, Shelvey, Lowe, Gardner, Delfouneso, Keane. /// BELGIUM: Casteels, Ngawa, Boyata, Wuytens, De Bock, Van Acker, Meunier, De Pauw (c), Benteke, Bruno, Badibanga... Subs: Kaminski, Lukaku, Guillaume, Daeseleira, Musonda, Naessens, D'Haene.
- 17:20 The senior team are in action later, but it's also a big night for the U21s against a talented Belgian side. Stuart Pearce is still manager of this lot, who will be led by caretaker Brian Eastick given Psycho is otherwise engaged at Wembley.
- 17:15 Welcome to live coverage of England U21 versus Belgium U21 from the Riverside Stadium in Middlesbrough!
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Summary
- 90+4' GOAL! Oxlade-Chamberlain takes the penalty himself, and drills it into the right corner beyond Casteels!
- 90+3' PENALTY! Oxlade-Chamberlain robs his man, drives into the box and is brought down by Boyata!
- 70' Good goalkeeping by Jack Butland! Nill De Pauw races through on goal, but the keeper stands tall and makes a good stop!
- 53' GOAL! It's three! Henri Lansbury's second of the game! Zaha controls a headed clearance, turns into crossing position and drills a low cross that Lansbury turns past Casteels!
- 43' CHANCE FOR BENTEKE! Badibanga crosses superbly from the Belgian right, the striker arrives and he guides his header just wide of the far post! Should have scored.
- 35' GOAL!! England are two up! A corner is drifted in from the right, Dawson heads it on and Caulker nods it past Casteels into the Belgian net!
- 17' Lansbury has another shot, firing low towards the right corner, but Casteels is equal to it. Corner.
- 14' Belgium put together their best move of the match, which culminates in Thomas Meunier blasting wide.
- 9' GOAL!! Henri Lansbury with an extraordinary goal for England! He fires the ball in from the left touchline and it swirls over Casteels into the far corner!
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