City Defender's Strike Helps Young Lions Overcome Early Scare
England Under-21s had to come from behind before securing a 4-2 victory over Kazakhstan at Molineux on Friday night. Max Alleyne, one of four Manchester City players in Lee Carsley's starting XI, scored the goal that restored the Young Lions' lead on the hour.
The visitors took a shock lead after only three minutes when Artem Litosh converted from a corner. England responded through an Ali Turganov own goal in the 26th minute, and Josh Acheampong put them ahead six minutes later. Saif Popov levelled shortly before half-time, sending the teams in at 2-2.
Alleyne, spending the season on loan at Burnley, met a headed knock-down from Acheampong following an Ethan Nwaneri free-kick with a powerful volley to make it 3-2. Will Lankshear, on as a substitute, added a fourth in stoppage time to complete the scoring.
City's other starters were Rico Lewis, Stephen Mfuni and Divin Mubama. Mfuni, on loan at Coventry City, hit the crossbar before the interval with an effort that had goalkeeper Miras Rikhard beaten. Mubama, who is at Southampton, twice tested Rikhard before being replaced by Lankshear in the 69th minute.
Lewis and Mfuni both completed the full match, while Alleyne also remained on the pitch for the 90 minutes.
The win keeps England on course for next summer's European Under-21 Championship finals in Serbia and Albania. They can secure qualification when they face Slovakia at Stoke City on Friday.