Jack Rodwell played an hour for England Under-21s on Tuesday night.

The Everton midfielder gave a man of the match performance in front of Fabio Capello as the young Lions beat Uzbekistan 2-0.

Rodwell, still only 19, was handed the captain's armband and was the fulcrum of most England attacks.

He also showed plenty of attacking intent and almost scored ten minutes before the break after jinking into the box.

He played in Daniel Sturridge moments later only for the Chelsea man to fire straight at the keeper.

Another Rodwell burst in the second half was bravely snuffed out by the keeper and Sturridge made a mess when the ball eventually came to him in the six yard box.

Tottenham's Danny Rose scored England's first in the 64th minute before an own goal doubled the margin with just under 15 minutes left.

"When I gave Jack the armband I asked him for a captain's performance and he certainly gave me one," said U21s boss Stuart Pearce.

Rodwell himself added: "I am delighted and I am delighted for the team as well. It is good to turn it round with a good performance. We have to win the next two games and this was great for the confidence. The future is looking bright."

Meanwhile in Dublin, Seamus Coleman scored in the Republic of Ireland Under-21s' comfortable 5-0 win over Estonia.

Ex-Arsenal striker Anthony Stokes scored twice in the first half before Wigan's James McCarthy grabbed a third after the break.

Coleman and Owen Garvan struck late on to put gloss on the scoreline.