A convincing 4-0 win over Qatar was not enough to guarantee qualification to the Toulon Tournament semi-finals for England Under-21s, who will have to await other games before their fate is confirmed.
Despite two wins from three games Aidy Boothroyd’s side finished second in their group behind Mexico, who had held them to a 0-0 draw earlier this week, and must now hope results in Group B favour them and they are able to qualify as the best-performing second-placed team.
Their performance against the Qataris was certainly impressive from the off, Chelsea striker Tammy Abraham flicking a corner just wide after only nine minutes.
It took some time for the Young Lions to finally get the breakthrough they deserved, Lukas Nmecha’s header flicked into his own net by Ahmed Suhail.
Qatar were unable to hold firm in the second half, with Ronaldo Vieira hammering home a powerful effort from 25 yards out after 53 minutes. Abraham added a third moments later, tapping it at close range after excellent build-up down the England left.
Newcastle’s Adam Armstrong rounded off the win on 67 minutes, but England were still left to hope that Scotland and Togo do not claim convincing wins in their games tomorrow.
