Arsenal's Eddie Nketiah hits hat-trick for England U21s as Chelsea's Callum Hudson-Odoi bags brace vs Austria

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Tom Doyle15 October 2019

England Under-21s raced to a four-goal lead by half-time of their Euro 2021 qualifier against Austria as Eddie Nketiah and Callum Hudson-Odoi starred in front of goal.

Arsenal striker Nketiah (currently on loan at Championship side Leeds) and Chelsea winger Hudson-Odoi both started in a strong Young Lions side at Stadium MK, and their Austrian visitors were simply no match for the duo.

Hudson-Odoi put England ahead with a well-placed volley after 12 minutes of the match, finishing high into the roof of the net after being found unmarked by Max Aarons.

England were soon two goals to the good as Nketiah cleverly improvised a close-range volley, acrobatically turning the ball home on the spin to put Aidy Boothroyd's side in firm control 28 minutes in.

In Pictures | England U21s vs Austria U21s | 15/10/2019

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And Nketiah - highly rated at Arsenal - had his second of the night after 39 minutes, deftly flicking home a cross with a glancing header into the bottom left-hand corner of the net.

But England were not finished there for the half, with Hudson-Odoi breaking at pace in injury time.

With four team-mates racing up alongside him on the counter-attack, the Chelsea forward had enough confidence to curl home a delightful finish from a little over 20 yards out to cap a superb first-half performance from the Young Lions.

Austria rallied after the break, but Nketiah was not to be denied his hat-trick as he smartly side-footed home a cross with 10 minutes left on the clock.

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