SO it is possible to watch an entertaining England team after all. Twenty-four hours after Gareth Southgate’s senior side sent the nation to sleep as they booked their World Cup place at Wembley, Aidy Boothroyd’s Under-21s hinted at a brighter future with a vibrant attacking display on Teesside.

Displaying the kind of energy and inventiveness that was so badly lacking on Thursday night, England’s youngsters outclassed their Scottish opponents as they extended their unbeaten start to the current round of European Championship qualifiers.

Josh Onomah’s superb first-half opener set England on their way, with Tammy Abraham adding a second goal from the penalty spot before setting up Dominic Solanke to confirm the victory after Scotland briefly threatened a revival through a goal from Chris Cadden.

Berwick Hills boy Dael Fry could hardly have wished for an easier night at the heart of the back four as he made an emotional outing on his home ground, and as Southgate looks to increase his options ahead of England’s World Cup adventure in Russia next summer, it will be interesting to see whether he raids the Under-21 squad for his side’s upcoming friendlies. On this evidence, there are a number of players who would be worthy replacements for the likes of Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Raheem Sterling, who have been found wanting in the senior ranks on so many occasions.

Last night’s game proved as much, and the occasion also highlighted the folly of the Football Association’s reluctance to move senior matches away from Wembley. The Riverside was hardly packed to the rafters, but the atmosphere generated by more than 20,000 fans was still far superior to the morgue-like response to England’s efforts against Slovenia on Thursday night.

Thursday’s scenes, with over 30,000 empty seats and supporters more interested in floating paper planes on to the pitch than supporting their side as they qualified for the World Cup finals, exposed the folly of constantly playing senior matches in London. There might be a financial argument for staging all of England’s competitive games at Wembley, but there is not a footballing one. It is time for the ‘national’ team to start visiting the whole of the nation once again.

For now though, the Under-21s will remain the biggest draw in regions like the North-East, and while that might starve youngsters outside London of the opportunity to see the nation’s best-known players in the flesh, they can at least watch some of the stars of the future. And if Southgate’s senior players continue to perform as they did against Slovenia, that future might not be too far away for some of the leading lights in Boothrody’s Under-21 squad.

For all the talk of a lack of opportunity for young players in the Premier League, eight members of last night’s starting line-up had made at least one senior appearance in the top-flight this season. A handful, most notably Abraham and Dominic Calvert-Lewin, are pretty much Premier League regulars, and the side also contained five members of the victorious Under-20 team that lifted the World Cup in the summer.

It was a member of that quintet who provided England with the perfect start, with Onomah displaying impeccable technique to break the deadlock in the 14th minute.

Scott McKenna’s defensive header fell towards the 20-year-old, who is on loan at Aston Villa from Tottenham, 25 yards out, and he effortlessly controlled the ball on chest before lofting a looped strike over Scotland goalkeeper Ryan Fulton. It was a fabulous finish from the Londoner, who has represented England at every level from the Under-16s.

There was a pace and vibrancy to England’s attacking play all night, with Calvert-Lewin and Demarai Gray marauding down the flanks, and Liverpool’s Solanke playing on the shoulder of Abraham, who impressed as a lone striker.

Abraham was one of the most sought-after signings of the summer, eventually turning down the option of a move to Newcastle United to join Swansea City, and the Chelsea loanee came within inches of doubling England’s lead five minutes after their opener.

Calvert-Lewin swung over an inviting cross from the left, and Abraham stuck out a boot to deflect the ball against the base of the post.

The striker came close again towards the end of the opening period, latching on to Fry’s headed knock-down and drilling in a shot that was blocked by Liam Smith on the line.

Scotland’s attacking was much less effective than that of their opponents, and England goalkeeper Angus Gunn was only called into action once before the interval, making a routine save from Dominic Thomas’ long-range effort.

The Scotland side featured two players apiece from St Mirren, Kilmarnock and Motherwell, so perhaps the gulf in class between the two sides was only to be expected.

With Lewis Cook and Solanke both going close at the end of the first half, a second English goal looked inevitable, and it arrived, albeit in controversial fashion, four minutes after the break. Abraham looked to have tripped over his own foot as he stumbled in the box under pressure from John Souttar, but Spanish referee Juan Martinez Munuera pointed to the spot. Abraham took control of penalty duties himself, and rolled a casual shot down the middle.

Scotland pulled a goal back with 11 minutes left, with the English defence erring for the first time all night. Joe Gomez missed an attempted header, and Oliver McBurnie teed up Cadden to roll the ball home.

However, within a minute, England had restored their two-goal advantage. The impressive Onomah sent Abraham scampering down the middle, and the striker unselfishly rolled the ball square to Solanke, who tapped into an empty net.