READING FC midfielder John Swift opened his England Under 21s account with a stunning goal in a 5-0 drubbing of Bosnia & Herzegovina at Walsall's Bescot Stadium.

Swift grabbed his first goal at U21 level by smashing an unstoppable shot into the top corner from 25 yards out to set Aidy Boothroyd's youngsters on their way to an emphatic victory yesterday.

Swift's scorcher in the 15th minute was followed by a brace from Tammy Abraham and further goals from Josh Onomah and Duncan Watmore as England ended their qualifying campaign on a high note.

Boothroyd's boys had sealed their place at next summer's European Championships in Poland last week thanks to a 1-0 win against Kazakhstan for which Swift had been an unused substitute.

But Reading's summer signing from Chelsea was back in the thick of it yesterday with an eye-catching midfield display against the Bosnians in what was his 37th England appearance at youth level.


That, though, will come as little surprise to Reading fans after Swift's superb start to the season under boss Jaap Stam.

The summer signing from Chelsea has already picked up two club Player of the Month awards for August and September and has scored four times in 12 appearances, including two brilliant long-range rockets in a league win at Barnsley and EFL Cup victory at Brighton.

Swift is due to meet up with his Reading teammate tomorrow as Stam's side prepare to return to Championship action with a trip to QPR this Saturday (3pm ko).

Skipper Paul McShane (Republic of Ireland), Chris Gunter (Wales), Danny Williams (USA) and Sandro Wieser (Liechtenstein) also come back from international duty after Stam gave those not in action last weekend off to recharge the batteries.