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England's Edward Nketiah, right, celebrates with England's Kieran Dowell, after scoring during the Under-21 Toulon soccer tournament semifinal match, between England and Scotland, in Aubagne, southern France, Wednesday, June 6, 2018. (AP Photo/Claude Paris)
England's Edward Nketiah, right, celebrates with England's Kieran Dowell, after scoring during the Under-21 Toulon soccer tournament semifinal match, between England and Scotland, in Aubagne, southern France, Wednesday, June 6, 2018. (AP Photo/Claude Paris)Claude Paris/Associated Press

Eddie Nketiah, England Come Back to Beat Scotland in 2018 Toulon Tournament

Gill Clark
Jun 6, 2018

England come from behind to beat Scotland 3-1 at the Toulon Tournament on Wednesday and book their place in the final against Mexico.

The Scot took the lead in the first half through Celtic'sย Michael Johnston. However, England hit back after the break as Arsenal'sย Eddie Nketiah set upย Callum Connolly for the equaliser and then scored twice to seal the win.

Nketiahย Is England's Star Man

England were in need of inspiration at half-time as they trailed toย Johnston's opener and were heading for defeat.

It duly arrived fromย Nketiah, who teed up Connolly for the equaliser with a ball in from the left. Five minutes later he won it in style with a brilliant individual goal.

The 19-year-old beat his man and then drove into the box before firing the ball into the top corner.

Scott McDermott at theย Sunday Mailย was impressed:

It was a goal fit to win any match, butย Nketiahย wasn't done there, as he added a third with 10 minutes to go with another run and well-placed shot.ย 

It was a match-winning performance fromย Nketiah, who stepped up and delivered when England needed him and will likely ensure Tammy Abraham remains on the bench against Mexico.

Same Old Story for Scotland

Scotland were beaten 3-0 by England in the semi-finals of theย Toulonย Tournament last year and for the first half at least looked set to take their revenge.

Yet while England improved after the break and took the lead, Scotland failed to respond and could only watch their hopes slip away.

Some sloppy defending allowed England to equalise, and while there was little Scotland could do aboutย Nketiah's strike, they rarely troubled the Young Lions after going behind.

England's Youth Continues to Shine Bright

England's youth teams have enjoyed great success in recent years and are into the final of theย Toulonย Tournament for the third straight year.

The Young Lions beat Ivory Coast in 2017 and France in 2016 and can make it a hat-trick of wins with victory over Mexico in the final.

The two teams have already met in the competition and played out a 0-0 draw in the group stage. There seems little to choose between the two teams, but England's experience may count in the final.