On the Trot: Craig Dawson features in England U21 romp over Sweden

England's U21 side welcomed their Swedish counterparts to Walsall's Banks's Stadium. The young Lions thrashed their opponents in a 4-0 victory with a brace from Tom Ince and goals from Jonjo Shelvey and Connor Wickham doing the job for them. The win was England's seventh in a row, all without conceding a single goal.

Craig Dawson represented Bolton Wanderers in this one for all 90 minutes while former loanee Benik Afobe started the match and, after not doing anything, was relieved of his duties by Connor Wickham on 46 minutes.

On the defensive front, there isn't much to write about for Craig Dawson as he and the rest of England kept Sweden's attacks largely quiet. In truth, Dawson had little to nothing to do at the back. Instead, where Dawson looked very good was in going forward, especially from set pieces. Dawson could be a real threat for Bolton Wanderers, with attacking corners looking to be his specialty. The central defender nearly added his name to the score sheet early on in the match, rising highest for an England corner but had the whistle blown for an infringement.

It's no wonder that he has five England U21 goals and 19 for Rochdale to his name. Bolton have really struggled from corners of late, with the last one coming before Christmas in the 5-4 loss to Peterborough.