Ekitike’s hat-trick fires France to win against England in eight-goal thriller | England Under-21s

So much for taking the easy option. Lee Carsley’s second coming as England’s Under-21 head coach ended in a chastening defeat against a talented France side that could prove to be a major stumbling block to his hopes of retaining the European title.

A hat-trick from Hugo Ekitike and an inspirational performance from Lyon’s Rayan Cherki were too much for an experimental England side that responded with goals from James McAtee, Harvey Elliott and Liam Delap before Elliott wasted a chance to equalise when he blasted his penalty into orbit.

A harsh late red card for substitute Omari Hutchinson was not exactly what Carsley would have planned from this trip to Brittany as Gérald Baticle’s side laid down a marker ahead of this summer’s tournament in Slovakia.

The array of rising stars on show meant this game had been billed as the most valuable Under-21 international ever held, with the combined value of both squads estimated at almost €1bn by the transfermarkt website.

Carsley said this week that he feels “very lucky” to be back in charge of such a talented squad after his spell as interim senior coach. He had hinted that he would use this and Monday’s friendly against Portugal to try out different combinations with a largely different group to the squad that triumphed at the European Championship in Georgia two years ago.

Captain Taylor Harwood-Bellis of Southampton was the only player to have started the final against Spain in 2023 to retain his place as England switched to a back three, although Everton’s Jarrad Branthwaite had to make do with a place on the bench after only joining up with the training camp on Wednesday.

Bournemouth’s Alex Scott was a surprise choice at right-wing back as Adam Wharton – who along with Harwood-Bellis and Liam Delap trained with Thomas Tuchel’s senior squad this week – and Elliot Anderson was preferred in central midfield in an area of the squad where Carsley is spoilt for choice.

He must have thought it was going to be a comfortable evening when McAtee – who may not be eligible for this summer’s finals in Slovakia given Manchester City’s involvement at the club World Cup – slammed home from close range from a corner after Delap’s header deflected off his Ipswich teammate Jaden Philogene in the second minute.

But France also have impressive depth in this age group and were level within two minutes when a brilliant through ball from Rayan Cherki set up Merlin inside the area. Harwood-Bellis and goalkeeper James Beadle were then at fault as a long ball from the outstanding Cherki allowed Ekitike – the Eintracht Frankfurt striker who will face Tottenham in next month’s Europa League quarter-final – to race through and score.

While they struggled to get to grips with France’s skilful front three, England looked bright whenever they went forward and it needed solid saves from goalkeeper Obed Nkambadio to keep out efforts from Delap, Philogene and Anderson before Philogene’s deflected shot struck the post.

There was a touch of class about Ekitike’s second goal after good work from Tottenham’s Wilson Odobert down the left allowed him to backheel the ball into the net. But Elliott gave England renewed hope when he pulled one back from McAtee’s clever header across goal, with Anderson then going within inches of equalising just before half-time.

With so many options on the bench, including Arsenal’s Ethan Nwaneri who was celebrating his 18th birthday, it was a surprise that Carsley didn’t make any early changes for the second half.

Ekitike soon completed his hat-trick with a simple tap in after Odobert once again left CJ Egan-Riley in his dust, although England refused to throw in the towel and were given a lifeline when Delap headed in after McAtee’s chip struck the crossbar.

Elliott was handed a golden opportunity to equalise from the spot when Rico Lewis was taken out but the Liverpool forward’s penalty was reminiscent of Harry Kane’s against France at the 2022 World Cup as it sailed into the stands.

It was left for Cherki to apply the coup de grace when his shot squirmed under the unfortunate Beadle to send Carsley back to the drawing board.