England U21s qualify for European Championship

England Under-21s beat Albania Under-21s 3-0 to qualify for the 2023 European Under-21 Championship.

Balogun then scored with a header after Charlie Cresswell set him up.

Aston Villa’s Cameron Archer added a third following a fine run from Everton winger Anthony Gordon before Albania’s Armando Dobra was sent off late on.

Dobra, who plays for League One side Ipswich Town, was dismissed for two bookable offences, the second of which saw him trip the impressive Gordon.

England are now three points ahead of the Czech Republic, who only have one match left and would finish below England if the two nations ended on the same points because of the head-to-head rule.

Lee Carsley’s side have only dropped two points in eight matches and have two games to go in their qualifying campaign. They defeated Czech Republic home and away – beating them 3-1 at Burnley in November and then 2-1 away from home on Friday.

The 16-team European Championship will take place in Romania and Georgia in June and July 2023, with Belgium, Portugal and Spain also qualified to join holders Germany and both host nations.

It is the ninth successive time England have qualified for the tournament, which is held every two years, however they have not won it since successive titles in 1982 and 1984.