England U21s 1–0 Andorra U21s: George’s first-half strike seals victory at Pride Park

England U21s beat Andorra U21s on Monday evening in European Championship qualifying, earning a comfortable win at Pride Park Stadium.

It wasn’t the most entertaining affair, but Lee Carsley’s side collected another three points to maintain their perfect start in Group D and move to the top of the table.

Jamie Gittens and Tyrique George were among the standouts, combining beautifully for the game’s only goal – Gittens’ quick feet setting up George for a fine finish.

Andorra rarely threatened, as the reigning European champions controlled possession from start to finish. While England fans might have hoped for more attacking flair, the Young Lions will be pleased to come away with another solid win.

As it happened

As expected, in the early stages of the game, the home side dominated the ball, and the first opening came in the sixth minute, when George fired just wide of the post after some tidy build-up play with Rico Lewis.

After 20 minutes on the clock, the European Champions had been far superior in terms of possession, but were struggling to create, bar a few flashes from Gittens and George.

England came close to opening the scoring just before the half-an-hour mark, with Ashley Phillips getting on the end of Gittens’ corner, but a crucial intervention off the line saw the Young Lions denied the lead.

Carsley’s side began to test the away side’s defence, with Joshua King finding the back of the net with a composed finish, yet the flag was up straight away for offside.

Gittens continued to cause problems on the left-hand side, this time delivering a teasing ball which dropped at the back-post to the on-rushing Brooke Norton-Cuffy, who lacked composure at the crucial moment and blazed it over the bar.

England finally found their breakthrough before half-time thanks to a sublime finish from George. Some quick feet from Gittens saw him knock it past Marc Rodríguez, before laying it off to George.

The 19-year-old took a touch before finding the roof of the net from the tightest of angles; It was a sublime finish from the Chelsea youngster.

The European champions had yet another chance cleared off the line in the early stages of the second half, with the ball kindly falling to George from the set-piece. His effort on the turn was stopped in the nick of time by the outstretched leg of Gerrard Solà.

It was a similar story to the first half – England were seeing plenty of the ball but struggled to create clear-cut chances.

Gittens was at the heart of England’s chances once more, this time cutting in before stinging the palms of Marc De Castro, with England searching to double their lead. It was a controlled second-half performance from Carsley’s side, with Andorra barely having a sniff at the England goal.

The visitors’ first shot on target came in the 80th minute from Santaella, whose effort from range caused no harm for James Beadle. England managed the final moments well to move top, with Andorra staying bottom of the group.

The lineups

ENG: Beadle; Norton-Cuffy, Acheampong, Alleyne, Lewis; Gray, Bellingham; Dibling, Nwaneri, Gittens; Mubama.

AND: De Castro; Rodríguez, Acosta, De Sa, Cornella; Boutarfas, Remolins, Ferreira, Santaella; Gumà, Solà.