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England Under-21 boss Gareth Southgate insisted Ruben Loftus-Cheek can force his way into Chelsea's side after his starring Young Lions role. The midfielder excelled as England strolled to a 3-0 Euro 2017 qualifying victory over a plucky but limited Kazakhstan side in Coventry. The Chelsea midfielder opened the scoring to send a reminder to under-pressure boss Jose Mourinho he is ready to help the struggling Premier League champions. The 19-year-old has only played 17 minutes of top flight football this season, but produced a stand-out performance as England maintained their 100 percent European qualifying record. Nathan Redmond and Chuba Akpom -- on his debut -- added to the scoreline and it should have been more as Loftus-Cheek and Akpom hit the woodwork Mourinho has refused to send the 19-year-old on loan and Under-21 chief Southgate believes Loftus-Cheek can challenge Willian and Eden Hazard for a starting spot at Stamford Bridge with more impressive displays. He said: "Ruben has been with [Chelsea] since the back end of last season and he is enjoying that experience. He knows he's got to keep training well every day and if he keeps doing that and performing as he did tonight I'm sure he'll get an opportunity. "He is a very calm and level-headed boy. I don't see any chance of him getting carried away and I have a feeling his club manager won't let him do that and we'll be the same. That will be a consistent message. Goals are something he has to add to his game if he is going to be in the No. 10 role. "He's a very powerful player. His use of the ball and ability to ride challenges and manipulate the ball quickly is very special. He should be very pleased with what he's done and hopefully he can progress that over the next few weeks with his club." Goals from Norwich's Redmond and Akpom, on loan at Hull from Arsenal, confirmed England's dominance in the second half as they started their Euro 2017 qualifying campaign with two wins from two in Group Nine. England never looked in danger of losing their lead - and were only troubled when Joe Gomez limped off after landing awkwardly -- and doubled it on 69 minutes thanks to Jordan Pickford's brilliant vision. The keeper picked out an unmarked Redmond with a stunning 60-yard pass and the Norwich winger cut inside before sliding past Pavlov at the near post. Loftus-Cheek had the chance to add the gloss in the final 10 minutes when he rattled the bar from close range, but Akpom did make it 3-0 in stoppage time with the final touch of the game. Southgate said: "This is a tougher qualifying group than last time, we know Norway and Switzerland and very strong. It was important not to slip up and we now have two important games next month which can really shape the group." Southgate also eased fears over Liverpool's Joe Gomez after the defender was forced off with a knee injury in the second half. "It seems to be okay, we were a bit concerned at first but we are hopeful it's nothing too serious," he added.
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