JAMES Ward-Prowse led England Under-21s to their third straight victory at the Toulon Tournament and now stand on the verge of their first final since 1994.

Young Lions captain Ward-Prowse and fellow Saints man Matt Targett helped Gareth Soutgate's side to a 4-0 win over Paraguay last night, which followed a 1-0 win over Portugal and a 7-1 victory against Guinea.

Targett was introduced as a substitute just before half time as Chelsea man Lewis Baker made it 1-0 on the half-hour.

Another Stamford Bridge player, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, then made it 2-0 soon into the second half, before the midfielder hit home the third soon after.

Norwich star Nathan Redmond, who has been linked with Saints in the past, struck with 15 minutes left to seal the emphatic win.

The Under-21s now only need a draw from tomorrow's final group stage game with Japan Under-23s to progress to the final.

Even if Southgate's side were to lose, their rivals would need a huge goal swing to overhaul them.

Ward-Prowse and co will face either France or the Czech Republic in the final.

"That’s exactly why we’ve come here, we’ve played against a team with tremendous spirit, with a real savvy approach to the game and it took us a while to work the game out," said Southgate.

"We got caught in possession a couple of times which invited contact and duels and meant the referee had to make decisions, so quite often it was a difficult game for him to referee.

"When we were able to get the ball down and pass it and make use of the possession, we controlled the game but because Paraguay press as well as they do it was very difficult in that opening period.

"So, especially the first hour of the game, it’s been a fantastic experience for us."