England Under-21s all but guaranteed their place in the final of the Toulon Tournament by thrashing Paraguay Under-23s 4-0.
Lewis Baker opened the scoring late in the first half, before Chelsea starlet Ruben Loftus-Cheek doubled their lead moments after the break.
Loftus-Cheek claimed his second of the match in the 59th minute and Norwich City's Nathan Redmond added gloss to the scoreline with a late solo goal.
Find out how all the action unfolded with our minute-by-minute text commentary below.
Hello and welcome to our live text coverage of the Toulon Tournament clash between Paraguay Under-23s and England Under-21s. Can the Young Lions make it three wins out of three in Group B? You've come to the right place to find out.
There's 25 minutes to go until kickoff, but we've got some team news coming up...
PARAGUAY U23s: Gomez, Ferreira, E. Benitez, Fernandez, Cabrera, Barreto, V. Velazquez, Rolon, D. Velazquez, Escobar, P. Benitez
ENGLAND U21s: Pickford, Iorfa, Chambers, Hause, Chilwell, Chalobah, Ward-Prowse, Loftus-Cheek, Baker, Redmond, Watmore
So there you have it, Young Lions boss Gareth Southgate has opted to rotate his starting XI and make a handful of changes from the 7-1 dismantling of Guinea Under-23s. The big news is the omission of Aston Villa's Jack Grealish, who scored twice on his full debut last time out.
His replacement is Sunderland's Duncan Watmore, who joins Nathan Redmond in the attack. Meanwhile, Jordan Pickford replaces Angus Gunn between the sticks and captain James Ward-Prowse retains his place in the side.
England have the chance to make it three wins out of three tonight and could secure a place in Sunday's final with a win, but Paraguay could well be their toughest test so far as the South Americans also boast a 100% record and sit below the English in Group B on goal difference.
England have a proud history in the Toulon Tournament, winning it four times in the 1990s, but have not contested a final for 22 years, bowing out in fourth place last time out.
Here's what Southgate had to say ahead of this crucial match: "Up to this point, from a physical point, we're really pleased with how we've been able to manage the games and we've now got some fresh players who can come into the game [tonight]. That's key and if we can win that game then we're in a really strong position to be in the final."
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Here come the teams! We're just moments away from kickoff now...
KICKOFF! The match is underway. England, garbed all in red, will kick from right to left in the first half. Paraguay are unchanged from their victory over Japan last time out.
There's an early chance for Paraguay as Sergio Diaz find space in the box and lets fly, but he directs his effort straight at Jordan Pickford. The chance came about following a free kick given away by Calum Chambers, a full England international.
Paraguay are refusing to allow England to dictate the pace of play. They've seen more of the ball in these opening stages, but that early opening for Diaz remains the only piece of goalmouth action so far.
Good build-up play from England in the middle of the park as Loftus-Cheek picks out Iorfa out wide. He races towards the opposition's box but is routinely dispossessed and the Paraguay defence clears its lines. We could be in for a tight contest here.
There's a good battle going on in the midfield with Loftus-Cheek pulling most of the strings for England. Their latest attempt to stage an attack breaks down as Redmond gives the ball away cheaply. Paraguay attempt to break but lose possession in the England half and the ball goes out for a throw.
Still goalless here at Six-Fours-les-Plages where neither side is giving the other an inch. Paraguay haven't allowed England to find any rhythm and have cancelled them out across the park. Just a reminder that a victory for Southgate's men all but guarantees them a place in the final due to their superior goal difference.
Watmore looks to cut inside wide on the right, but Benitez races back and wins the ball with a sliding challenge. It goes out for an England throw, which they fail to make anything of. A goal, or even a shot on goal, wouldn't go amiss here at Six-Fours-les-Plages!
Brighter play from England now. They're seeing more of the ball, with Iorfa and Loftus-Cheek exchanging passes well, but they can't find a way through Paraguay's deep defence.
England finally register a shot on goal, but it wouldn't have counted had Baker managed to beat Gomez between the Paraguay sticks. The ball fell kindly for the Chelsea man in front of goal, but he was well offside even before he pulled the trigger.
CHANCE! The best chance of the match goes begging as Nathan Redmond gets half a yard on his marker, races into the box and shoots across Gomez towards the bottom corner. His effort drifts just wide.
England are growing into the game now. Chilwell finds space on the left flank and swings a dangerous cross towards the back post, but there are no red shirts in position to capitalise. The Young Lions keep up the pressure as Redmond hoists the ball back into the box, only for Gomez to claim it without too much trouble.
GOAL! Paraguay U23s 0-1 England U21s (Baker)
England have been playing with more conviction these past few minutes and it's them who draw first blood. Watmore and Loftus-Cheek link up well before the latter rolls the ball to Lewis Baker on the edge of the box and the Chelsea youngster curls an unstoppable strike into the top corner. Great finish.
The Young Lions are threatening to build on that opening goal as Chilwell races forward and attempts to exploit a gap in the Paraguay defence. He's dispossessed by Benitez, who went in somewhat overzelously and has left Chilwell on the deck needing treatment.
ENGLAND SUB: That challenge has spelled an end to Chilwell's evening, forcing Gareth Southgate to take him off. Southampton's Matt Targett is his replacement.
HALF TIME: Paraguay U23s 0-1 England U21s
The referee brings the first half to a close with England leading courtesy of a top-drawer finish from Lewis Baker. The Young Lions are all but guaranteed a place in Sunday's final if this scoreline remains the same.
Not too many talking points in the first half. Paraguay's best chance came early on when Sergio Diaz found space in the box, but he could only direct his effort right at Jordan Pickford. Other than the goal, England threatened just one other time, with Nathan Redmond shooting narrowly wide in the 29th minute.
The only other talking point is an injury to Ben Chilwell, which will come as a blow to Leicester City fans. He came off worse following a 50-50 challenge by Benitez and has been replaced by Southampton's Matt Targett.
The second half is about to begin. Stay tuned for minute-by-minute updates...
KICKOFF: We are back underway here. Can England preserve their 1-0 lead and put themselves in the driving seat in Group B? The balance of play in the first period certainly suggests they can.
GOAL! Paraguay U23s 0-2 England U21s (Loftus-Cheek)
England extend their lead through Ruben Loftus-Cheek, who chases down a long ball, out-muscles Benitez in the box and slides the ball beyond Gomez into the bottom corner. A cool finish from the Chelsea man, who has been the best player on the pitch this evening.
BOOKINGS! Paraguay's response to falling further behind is petulance as Joel Gimenez is booked for a cynical challenge, before Sergio Diaz joins him in the book for dissent moments later. Is the pressure getting to the South Americans?
BOOKING! Edgar Benitez joins his two teammates on yellow for a mistimed tackle.
There's been a scrappiness to proceedings these past few minutes. Paraguay are playing like a team that has accepted defeat, lashing out at every opportunity while doing little to put pressure on their opponents in the final third.
A two-goal victory would virtually guarantee England a place in Sunday's final. They went into the match with a superior goal difference to Paraguay, so only a complete disaster in their final group match would keep them from topping the group.
CHANCE! England go in search of a third as Pickford's long goalkick finds its way to Watmore in the box. He goes for goal but Gomez gets a hand to his shot and parries the ball clear.
GOAL! Paraguay U23s 0-3 England U21s (Loftus-Cheek)
Loftus-Cheek buries his second of the evening after being picked out by Watmore with a through-ball. The Chelsea man goes one on one with Gomez and dinks the ball over the Paraguay goalkeeper to put the Young Lions out of sight.
SUBSTITUTION: Aston Villa starlet Jack Grealish gets a runout, coming on for Duncan Watmore for the final 20 minutes of this group clash.
GOAL! Paraguay U23s 0-4 England U21s (Redmond)
It's another complete rout! The Young Lions move 4-0 up courtesy of a sensational solo goal from Nathan Redmond. The Norwich City striker powers into the box, doing all of the hard work himself before making the net bulge with a vicious hit.
It's been exhibition stuff from England in this second half. Redmond almost ripped the net out with that effort, and check out Loftus-Cheek's deft lob from earlier:
A delightful chip from @rubey_lcheek puts @England U21s three clear against Paraguay. #Toulon2016 https://t.co/zX7OFy5c7q — BT Sport Football (@btsportfootball) May 25, 2016
Paraguay with a rare attempt on goal, which comes from a free kick that Aranda blazes over the crossbar, failing to trouble Pickford.
At four goals up, England Under-21's goal difference in Group B stands at plus 11, which means that they would have to lose their final group match against Japan by an almost impossible margin, coupled with a big win for either Paraguay or Portugal.
We're into the closing minutes now but the match is showing no signs of fizzling out. Ferreira takes out Iorfa with a bone-crunching tackle to grind an England attack to a halt - or at least it would have been bone-crunching had he not got the ball cleanly.
Two minutes of stoppage time to be played.
BOOKING! England's John Swift is booked for going down too easily in the box, but there can't be much left of this game now...
FULL TIME: Paraguay U23s 0-4 England U21s
There goes the full-time whistle. It's been an evening to forget for Paraguay Under-23s but one to remember for England Under-21s. A 4-0 win for the Young Lions puts them on the brink of a place in the final of the Toulon Tournament on Sunday.
Many thanks for following the action with Sports Mole. That's all we've got time for here, but stay tuned for our match report and reaction from this evening's game.
Written by
Mark Langshaw
Mark Langshaw
