England Under-21s took a huge step towards Euro 2015 after Nathan Redmond’s hat-trick secured a play-off spot.

On a sodden night at The Liberty Stadium in Swansea, England’s ability to attack with pace and purpose left head coach Gareth Southgate purring, as he singled out Norwich forward Redmond for special praise after he once again tormented Wales.

Redmond scored the only goal when the sides first met at Derby in March but Wales were powerless to stop him here, as he scored twice before the break and completed his hat-trick via a deflection off Saido Berahino in injury time.

Southgate’s squad now only need one point from their remaining two games to win Group 1 but, in this form, they look odds-on to negotiate their remaining hurdles and qualify for a fifth European Championship in succession.

‘I thought from the first minute, we were a real threat and our pace caused them problems,’ said Southgate. ‘That is as well as we have played all season. I had been talking to Nathan about getting in the box to get more goals. He played very well and I could not be happier.’

Wales caused England problems when the side met at Pride Park two months ago and that was the case again at times here, as Swansea midfielder Lee Lucas and Lee Evans of Wolves, in particular, drove them forward.

But even though England were missing a number of key figures, such as John Stones, Raheem Sterling and Ravel Morrison, always had an extra edge in class and they took the lead on 17 minutes when Redmond fired in from close range after he was given too much space by Wales’ defence.

‘We have shown that we have got depth,’ said Southgate. ‘If we had lost so many players as we had done here in the past, it might have been difficult but we had a lot of top performances.’

The hosts needed to win to keep their hopes of reaching the play-offs alive and they levelled when Gwion Edwards beat Jack Butland to a cross in the 19th minute. It was the first goal England had conceded since they drew 1-1 with Finland in September.

Wales’ joy, however, was short-lived. England kept working the ball forward and eventually Redmond – who scored the only goal in the corresponding fixture at Derby – popped up again when thumping in a drive from 20 yards.

Regaining the lead gave England confidence and they might have added more to their tally when Manchester United youngster was denied twice by Connor Roberts in the Wales goal, while the impressive Everton left-back Luke Garbutt also dragged a shot wide.

After the break, England were in control but they could not find the goal that would finish Wales off. Substitute Saido Berahino fired wide from a good position, while Redmond — who is sure to have Premier League scouts watching him — was only denied a hat-trick by the width of a post.

In the end, it was a job well done for Southgate and the only sour point of the night was seeing Harry Kane hobble off after a heavy challenge. The Tottenham forward faces weeks on the sidelines with ligament damage and will miss the Toulon Tournament, which starts for England on Thursday against Qatar. He left the stadium with his foot in a protective boot.

England’s remaining Group 1 fixtures are trips to Lithuania and Moldova in September. They will then face a two-legged tie that will determine whether they go to the Czech Republic with seven other nations next summer.

—Daily Mail