England U21 6-1 Norway U21

Marcus Rashford has scored once for England in three senior appearances

Marcus Rashford scored a hat-trick on his England Under-21 debut as they thrashed Norway in a European Under-21 Championship qualifier.

The Manchester United man has scored on his debuts in the Premier League and Europa League, as well as for England's senior side and now the U21s.

The 18-year-old struck from 18 yards before adding a deflected second and scoring a penalty for his third.

Nathaniel Chalobah, Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Lewis Baker also scored.

The comfortable win means Gareth Southgate's men are now two points clear of Switzerland at the top of their group, with two games left to play and a game in hand on their nearest opponents.

Norway, who made it 4-1 through a Ghayas Zahid header, remain third.

The top team in each group is assured of reaching next year's tournament in Poland, with the team finishing second going into a play-off.

Rashford's remarkable 2016
Date	What happened?
25 Feb	Scores twice on United debut against Midtjylland in the Europa League
28 Feb	Scores another double on his Premier League bow in a 3-2 win over Arsenal
21 May	Starts for United as they beat Crystal Palace 2-1 in the FA Cup final
27 May	Scores three minutes into his England debut in a friendly against Australia
6 Sep	Scores a hat-trick on his Under-21 debut in a 6-1 win over Norway

Rashford makes his case to start

After omitting him from his first senior squad before the recent World Cup qualifiers, England boss Sam Allardyce said Rashford's inclusion in England's Under-21s "will be invaluable for us later down the line".

The former Sunderland and Bolton boss also suggested that he would not pick players who were not playing regularly for their club sides.

"In the past, it's been a case of some of the players joining up who haven't played that much for their teams," said Allardyce. "That's a bit of a concern."

Rashford has played just 19 minutes in the Premier League this season, coming off the bench to score a late winner against Hull City.

Jose Mourinho's United have won all three of their league games this season and play Manchester City at Old Trafford on Saturday.

A performance to savour

With Allardyce watching, Rashford made a perfect start to his Under-21 career with a powerful run and finish for his first goal on 29 minutes.

He added his second with a deflected shot to put his side 4-0 up and then made it five from the penalty spot after his cross into the box was handled by a Norwegian defender.

Next year, Rashford would be eligible to play at both the Under-20 World Cup in South Korea, where England have already booked their place among the 24 competing nations, and the European Under-21 Championships in Poland.

The teenager told BT Sport: "It was a good debut to have and I thought Norway did well despite the scoreline. It was the first penalty I've scored since I turned professional, so that was my favourite goal."

• Line-ups
• Match Stats
• Live Text

Line-ups

England U21

• 1Gunn
• 2Iorfa
• 5Chambers
• 6Hause
• 3Targett
• 4Chalobah
• 8Ward-Prowse
• 7Baker
• 10Loftus-CheekSubstituted forWatmoreat 80'minutes
• 11RedmondSubstituted forGrayat 81'minutes
• 9RashfordSubstituted forAkpomat 84'minutes

Substitutes

• 12Holding
• 13Wildsmith
• 14Hayden
• 15Galloway
• 16Gray
• 17Watmore
• 18Akpom

Norway U21

• 1Rossbach
• 2Haraldseid
• 18Berge
• 3Jenssen
• 5Grogaard
• 21ElyounoussiSubstituted forThorsbyat 76'minutes
• 8Fossum
• 22SelnaesBooked at 50minsSubstituted forTrondsenat 68'minutesBooked at 80mins
• 20Møller DæhliSubstituted forZahidat 57'minutes
• 11Odegaard
• 9Sørloth

Substitutes

• 6Trondsen
• 10Zahid
• 12Dyngeland
• 15Rosted
• 16Thorsby
• 17Meling
• 19Espejord

Match Stats

Home TeamEngland U21Away TeamNorway U21

Possession

Home45%

Away55%

Shots

Home16

Away12

Shots on Target

Home9

Away6

Corners

Home2

Away4

Fouls

Home9

Away17

Live Text

Posted at

Match ends, England U21 6, Norway U21 1.

Full Time

Posted at 90'+2'

Second Half ends, England U21 6, Norway U21 1.

Posted at 90'+1'

Foul by Morten Thorsby (Norway U21).

Posted at 90'+1'

Kortney Hause (England U21) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

Posted at 89'

Attempt missed. Kristoffer Haraldseid (Norway U21) right footed shot from the left side of the box is close, but misses to the right. Assisted by Iver Fossum with a through ball.

Posted at 89'

Corner, Norway U21. Conceded by Calum Chambers.

Posted at 89'

Attempt blocked. Alexander Sørloth (Norway U21) left footed shot from the left side of the box is blocked. Assisted by Ghayas Zahid.

Posted at 88'

Kristoffer Haraldseid (Norway U21) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

Posted at 88'

Foul by Chuba Akpom (England U21).

Goal!

Posted at 86'

Goal! England U21 6, Norway U21 1. Lewis Baker (England U21) right footed shot from the centre of the box to the bottom left corner. Assisted by James Ward-Prowse with a cross following a corner.

Posted at 85'

Corner, England U21. Conceded by Thomas Grogaard.

Substitution

Posted at 84'

Substitution, England U21. Chuba Akpom replaces Marcus Rashford.

Posted at 82'

Foul by Iver Fossum (Norway U21).

Posted at 82'

Nathaniel Chalobah (England U21) wins a free kick in the attacking half.

Posted at 81'

Offside, England U21. Demarai Gray tries a through ball, but Duncan Watmore is caught offside.

Posted at 81'

Attempt missed. Demarai Gray (England U21) left footed shot from outside the box misses to the right. Assisted by James Ward-Prowse following a set piece situation.

Posted at 81'

Attempt blocked. Lewis Baker (England U21) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked.

Substitution

Posted at 81'

Substitution, England U21. Demarai Gray replaces Nathan Redmond.

Substitution

Posted at 80'

Substitution, England U21. Duncan Watmore replaces Ruben Loftus-Cheek.

Booking

Posted at 80'

Anders Trondsen (Norway U21) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.

Posted at 80'

Foul by Anders Trondsen (Norway U21).

Posted at 80'

Ruben Loftus-Cheek (England U21) wins a free kick in the attacking half.

Posted at 79'

Attempt missed. Alexander Sørloth (Norway U21) right footed shot from the centre of the box is too high. Assisted by Kristoffer Haraldseid.

Posted at 77'

Attempt saved. James Ward-Prowse (England U21) right footed shot from outside the box is saved in the top centre of the goal.

Substitution

Posted at 76'

Substitution, Norway U21. Morten Thorsby replaces Mohammed Elyounoussi.

Posted at 76'

Foul by Ulrik Jenssen (Norway U21).

Posted at 76'

Lewis Baker (England U21) wins a free kick in the attacking half.

Posted at 75'

Corner, Norway U21. Conceded by Kortney Hause.

Posted at 75'

Attempt blocked. Kristoffer Haraldseid (Norway U21) left footed shot from the right side of the box is blocked. Assisted by Ghayas Zahid.

Posted at 74'

Nathan Redmond (England U21) hits the right post with a left footed shot from outside the box. Assisted by Dominic Iorfa.

Goal!

Posted at 71'

Goal! England U21 5, Norway U21 1. Marcus Rashford (England U21) converts the penalty with a right footed shot to the top left corner.

Posted at 70'

Penalty conceded by Thomas Grogaard (Norway U21) with a hand ball in the penalty area.

Substitution

Posted at 68'

Substitution, Norway U21. Anders Trondsen replaces Ole Selnaes.

Goal!

Posted at 68'

Goal! England U21 4, Norway U21 1. Ghayas Zahid (Norway U21) header from the centre of the box to the bottom right corner. Assisted by Kristoffer Haraldseid with a cross.

Goal!

Posted at 65'

Goal! England U21 4, Norway U21 0. Marcus Rashford (England U21) right footed shot from the left side of the box to the top right corner. Assisted by Ruben Loftus-Cheek.

Goal!

Posted at 64'

Goal! England U21 3, Norway U21 0. Ruben Loftus-Cheek (England U21) right footed shot from the centre of the box to the bottom left corner. Assisted by Nathan Redmond.

Posted at 62'

Attempt saved. Nathan Redmond (England U21) left footed shot from outside the box is saved in the top left corner. Assisted by Ruben Loftus-Cheek.

Posted at 62'

Offside, England U21. Ruben Loftus-Cheek tries a through ball, but Lewis Baker is caught offside.

Posted at 60'

Ole Selnaes (Norway U21) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

Posted at 60'

Foul by Nathan Redmond (England U21).

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