Rose slots home England's winner against Portugal at Wembley
England maintained their pursuit of European Championship qualifying Group Nine leaders Greece with a narrow victory over third-placed Portugal.
Danny Rose scored the only goal from close range just before half-time after a knock-down from Andy Carroll.
It proved enough to see off a talented Portugal team and extend the under-21s' unbeaten run to four qualifying games.
Portugal had earlier missed an opportunity when Yazalde Gomes fired over from close range.
A crowd of 34,000 made for a good atmosphere at Wembley but blustery conditions played their part in hampering the fluency of the play.
Early on, Portugal forward Ukra drifted over a looping cross that Watford keeper Scott Loach did well to palm away from danger.
Gomes then contrived to side-foot over the bar when well-placed as the visitors sought to take advantage of their initial superiority.
Midfielder Rose, who Tottenham have just recalled from a loan spell at Peterborough, emerged as the star of the show.
He almost gave the home side the lead after 23 minutes but his header from a Tom Cleverley cross hit the underside of the bar.
Five minutes before half-time Rose made amends, finding space in the box to side-foot home after Carroll had nodded down a deep ball from Michael Mancienne.
With 20 minutes to go, England felt they should have been given the chance to extend their lead from the penalty spot but German referee Thorsten Kinhofer waved away appeals when Cleverley went down under a challenge from Fabio Faria.
England were able to see out the win and they are now three points behind Greece, with a game in hand.
England U21: Loach, Richards, Mancienne (Naughton 76), Smalling, Gibbs, Bertrand, Cleverley, Delph (Gosling 90), Muamba, Rose (Cork 76), Carroll. Subs Not Used: Fielding, Lansbury, Sturridge, Hines.
Goals: Rose 40.
Portugal U21: Ventura, Faria, Daniel Carrico, Miguel Vitor, Pedro Moreira, Rui Pedro (Joao Aurelio 78), Bruno Pereirinha, Adrien Silva (Castro 64), Yazalde, Ukra, Fredy (Tiago Cintra 57). Subs Not Used: Silva, Andre Pinto, Rabiola, Andre Santos.
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