England under-21s manager Lee Carsley has heaped praise on Everton defender Jarrad Branthwaite after he he was handed the captaincy for his side's 3-0 win over Northern Ireland at Goodison Park on Tuesday night.

The 21-year-old centre-back led out the Young Lions in just his fifth appearance for the team as they kept the pressure on Ukraine following defeat to their European Under-21 Championship qualifying Group F rivals last month.

It was a comfortable night defensively for Branthwaite, who could've capped a memorable evening at his home ground with a goal as he came close on three occasions.

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Everton manager Sean Dyche was watching on at Goodison along with former Blues trio Leighton Baines, Joleon Lescott and Conor Coady.

And after the match Carsley detailed that Branthwaite was a deserved option to take the captaincy "There were a few players that could've worn the armband," the 49-year-old said. "It was a way of showing Jarrad how well we think he's doing at present as well. I think it's part of the game he can add to in terms of leadership.

"He leads by example, he's not too loud, he's quite a quiet guy but the way he plays, he's very imposing. I thought he was excellent tonight and it's something that he should be proud of to lead the team out.

"It was (a) low-key (response), he's very much a team player. I'm not sure he was too keen on being the one in the limelight, you seen that tonight both he and Jarell (Quansah), they play like men.

"I thought they were outstanding, they played with real matureness in their defending, it was good to see."