George was handed a start at Birmingham City's St Andrew's Stadium alongside Chelsea team-mates Josh Acheampong and Jamie Gittens. England were going in search of their fourth consecutive victory in Under-21 qualifying.

In blustery and wet conditions, it wasn't an easy night's work for the Young Lions. But they were handed an opportunity to break the deadlock midway through the first half when George was brought down in the penalty area by Adam Murphy.

Manchester City forward Divin Mubama stepped up from 12 yards but saw his effort saved by Ireland goalkeeper Noah Jauny, who soon after denied a close-range header from Gittens after good work again from George down the right flank.

It wasn't until the hour mark that the deadlock was broken. Irish midfielder Jad Hakiki felled Chelsea Academy graduate Lewis Hall in the box and, this time, Mubama made no mistake from 12 yards. Gittens was replaced moments later by Fulham's Josh King.

England fashioned further chances, yet it wasn't until the 90th minute that their victory was assured. George scored the important second goal as he moved into the box with the ball, produced a step-over and then rifled a shot into the roof of the net with his left foot.

Acheampong also completed the game to ensure England kept another clean sheet; the Young Lions' backline has yet to be breached during this qualifying campaign.

Meanwhile, Guiu came off the bench to score Spain Under-21s' fifth goal in a 7-0 victory in their qualifying win over San Marino.

The Blues forward was introduced just before the hour mark and got his name on the scoresheet with a well-taken finish from the edge of the penalty area with 13 minutes remaining.

Earlier in the evening, Harrison Murray-Campbell and Ato Ampah featured for England Under-20s as they rounded off their 2025 action with a 1-1 draw against Japan.

Murray-Campbell started and completed the game, which was played at the Eco-Power Stadium in Doncaster, while Ampah was replaced with 12 minutes remaining by Amara Nallo.