Luton defender Mengi makes his England U21 debut during Luxembourg thrashing

Luton defender Teden Mengi became the 12th Luton Town player to ever represent England U21s when he came on during the 7-0 UEFA U21 EURO qualifying group stage clash victory over Luxembourg U21s last night.

The 21-year-old had missed Saturday’s 5-1 win in Azerbaijan after returning to Kenilworth Road for a medical assessment, but deemed fit enough to play, returning to the squad and was named on the bench by boss Lee Carsley at Bolton Wanderers’ Toughsheet Stadium. The hosts went close early on, Jay Stansfield’s shot saved by Noah Scheidweiler, Sam Iling-Junior off target with the rebound.

Liverpool’s Harvey Elliott picked out his Anfield team-mate Jarell Quansah on 15 minutes, who headed over, but England were ahead midway through the half when Chelsea forward Noni Madueke was found by AFC Bournemouth’s Alex Scott to open the scoring. James McAtee, brother of Hatters player John, went close to a second, but that arrived when Iling-Junior hammered home in the closing stages of the first half.

After the break, England went for the jugular, Madueke denied by Scheidweiler, but it was 3-0 when Jamie Bynoe-Gittens found the net having been played in by Elliott. Luxembourg hit the post through Fabio Lohei, but the Three Lions were soon back in the ascendancy and scoring again, Madueke finding the bottom corner on 51 minutes for his second.

With an hour gone, Mengi was introduced to the action, becoming the first Hatters to play for the England U21s in almost 20 years, goalkeeper Kelvin Davis the last to do so back in 1995. He was part of a triple substitution that saw Morgan Rogers also come on, the Aston Villa forward quickly bagging a maiden goal, before Iling-Junior glanced home his second on 72 minutes.

Rogers made it a quickfire double with eight minutes left, as Ivan Englaro hit the post in the 89th minute for the visitors, but it was England who were handsome winners, going level on points with Group F leaders Ukraine, who have a game in hand over Carsley’s side. England are back in action in September when they face Northern Ireland U21s in their next qualifier.

England: Sam Tickle, Jarell Quansah, Taylor Harwood-Bellis (Teden Mengi 61), Jay Stansfield (Morgan Rogers 61), James McAtee (Adam Wharton 68), Noni Madueke, Alex Scott, Sam Iling-Junior (Callum Doyle 75), Archie Gray (Brooke Norton-Cuffy 61), Harvey Elliott, Jamie Bynoe-Gittens. Subs not used: Tyler Morton, Jaden Philogene, Matthew Cox, Nathan Wood.