Under-21s in seven-heaven

England Under-21s thrashed Azerbaijan 7-0 in their warm-up for the European Championships but the talking point was goalkeeper Joe Lewis being brought on as a striker for the last 15 minutes at stadium:mk.

Coach Stuart Pearce rested key players ahead of the tournament starting next week in Sweden and had two stoppers among his six replacements, with Lewis getting brought on for Lee Cattermole to prevent any injuries.

It was a bizarre end to a match England were in control of after Michael Mancienne's early strike, an own goal by goalkeeper Elchin Sadigov and a cool finish from Craig Gardner to establish a half-time lead at MK Dons' ground.

Nodar Mammadov then diverted into his own net after the break and Kieran Gibbs added another two before Jack Rodwell's deflected shot provided the seventh.

Lewis is unlikely to get another game as an outfield player as Pearce will have the likes of Theo Walcott and James Milner back for their tournament opener against Finland next Monday.

Those two were on seniors duty, while Micah Richards, Nedum Onuoha and Gabriel Agbonlahor rested knocks - but despite a lack of numbers the hosts were in control right from the start.

With victory assured, Pearce then brought on Lewis as a striker, although the Peterborough goalkeeper did not threaten the Azerbaijan goal.

Copyright (c) PA Sport 2009, All Rights Reserved.