James McAtee pays emotional tribute to George Baldock after brilliant double hands England U21s victory | OneFootball

Manchester City youngster James McAtee scored a brilliant double to strengthen England U21’s hopes of automatically qualifying for the U21 Euros next summer.

England had found themselves trailing 1-0 to group toppers Ukraine, who still have a two-point lead at the top heading into the final game of qualifying, after Taras Mykhavko had headed in from a corner.

But McAtee equalised with a fantastic free-kick late on before securing the three points moments later with a close-range finish.

England needed victory to stand a chance of still finishing top, with only one game left of their qualifying campaign against Azerbaijan on Tuesday.

If they do not finish top, the Three Lions must hope they are one of the three best second-placed sides, which does not include results against the last-placed team in their group, in order to automatically qualify for the tournament.

But thanks to McAtee, interim boss Ben Futcher’s side stand in a strong position of avoiding the play-offs.

It has already been a significant season for the Manchester City youngster. His boss Pep Guardiola praised him up after the Community Shield victory before the start of the Premier League campaign, lauding his quality in tight spaces and insisting he wanted to keep him at the club instead of sending him out on loan for that reason.

The midfielder then went on to score his first Champions League goal in the win over Slovan Bratislava earlier this season and has been a regular feature in City’s matchday squad, with more first-team opportunities surely set to come his way in the near future.

It did not quite come off for him against Ukraine U21s until he scored, missing a big chance in the first half to put his side ahead, but his quality was there for all to see, playing several dangerous through balls and catching the eye with his ability to turn quickly in possession which is reminiscent of team-mate Phil Foden.

But his persistence paid off, and in his celebrations the 21-year-old also paid a heartfelt tribute to former team-mate George Baldock, who passed away this week at the age of 31 and who played with McAtee during the City youngster’s time on loan at Sheffield United.