Leeds United man issues dominant reminder in international break demolition job

Lee Carsley’s Young Lions saw off Serbia U21 by a 9-1 scoreline in Nottingham, much to the delight of 14,000-strong home crowd in attendance at the Premier League stadium.

Cresswell was drafted in following injury to Southampton defender and 21s skipper Taylor Harwood-Bellis, producing a fine display at the heart of defence as England romped to a famous qualification victory.

The 21-year-old was unbeaten in all eight of his aerial duels, completed 86 per cent of his passes and almost got himself on the scoresheet. As a result, current holders England stay top of their U21 Euro qualification group with a +11 goal difference after two matches, ahead of Ukraine, who they face later this month, Luxembourg, Serbia, Northern Ireland and Azerbaijan.

Cresswell was part of the squad which was crowned U21 Euro champions this summer at the tournament in Romania and Georgia. Several members of that squad have been retained during this qualification cycle, which looks bound to end in safe passage to the next finals in 2025.

“The fundamentals of tonight were based on outworking your opponent. It’s important if you are going to get a long career and play for England you can be technically and physically better than your opponent,” Carsley said at full-time.

“We did that all over the pitch. When the scoreline started getting away from Serbia we didn’t stop.”

Elsewhere in England’s qualification group, Northern Irish youth international and Leeds attacker Charlie Allen started for his country in Azerbaijan as they recorded a 1-0 win. England’s Under-20s, featuring Darko Gyabi from the start and Mateo Joseph, were less fortunate, losing 2-0 to Romania in the U20 Elite League. Their next fixture is at Milton Keynes on Tuesday evening.

Cresswell is expected to retain his place in Carsley’s starting line-up following Harwood-Bellis’ withdrawal from the camp and the U21 manager’s decision not to call up a replacement centre-half.

The Leeds defender has played less than 200 league minutes under Daniel Farke since the new manager’s arrival in the summer and despite signing a contract extension in the summer, finds himself behind Pascal Struijk, Joe Rodon and Liam Cooper in the hierarchy at centre-back. His latest display on the international stage will serve as a reminder to Farke and his staff of the potential Cresswell possesses, in particular when it comes to dominating opponents physically.