England Under 21s hammered Azerbaijan 7-0 in their final warm-up game before the European Championship.
England Under 21s claim 7-0 win in final warm-up game
England Under 21s hammered Azerbaijan 7-0 in their final warm-up game before the European Championship.
Stuart Pearce's youngsters open their campaign against Finland next Monday and they could not have asked for a better send-off at stadium:mk.
It took less than a minute for Michael Mancienne to break the deadlock as the Chelsea defender turned the ball home after James Tomkins' header had struck the crossbar from Adam Johnson's corner.
England continued to dominate and could have doubled their advantage before the second goal arrived in slightly comical fashion on 26 minutes.
Captain Mark Noble picked up possession just inside the area after a neat move and fired an effort at the near post which rebounded onto goalkeeper Elchin Sadigov's back and rolled over the line.
Gardner added a third five minutes later when he collected a 40-yard pass from Kieran Gibbs and volleyed home his finish.
Azerbaijan, fielding four full internationals, looked lively in attack and almost pulled one back when Rauf Aliyev's ambitious shot from the touchline forced Joe Hart into a save.
Striker role for Lewis
Emin Jafarguliyev also sliced horribly wide after latching onto a corner, before England regained complete control at the start of the second half.
They made it 4-0 in the 55th minute when substitute Andrew Taylor swung over a deep cross that Lee Cattermole met, with Nodar Mammadov hacking into his own net.
Arsenal full-back Kieran Gibbs then got in on the act by netting a fifth nine minutes later, coolly stroking a cross from Danny Rose past the keeper.
Gibbs demonstrated his finishing ability again in the 70th minute as he turned the ball home from close range after more good work from Rose and Johnson down the left wing.
Insult was added to injury for Azerbaijan towards the end when Peterborough goalkeeper Joe Lewis was brought on up front, although there was little in his performance to suggest he has a future as a striker.
England maintained their intensity until the final whistle as everyone looked to impress Pearce, and a seventh goal arrived when Jack Rodwell's deflected strike found the target in stoppage time.
There will be far stiffer challenges ahead in Sweden over the coming weeks but England will travel to the tournament full of confidence.
