Defending Champions England Begin U21 Euros with Convincing Victory Against Czech Republic

England commenced their defence of the UEFA U21 European Championships title with a 3-1 victory over the 2002 champions, the Czech Republic. This marked the Three Lions’ seventh triumph in eight competitive matches.

With hopes of replicating their 2-0 win against the Czechs from their opening game during the successful 2023 campaign, England started brightly. However, the overwhelming support for their rivals within the stadium quickly seemed to impact their focus.

Martin Suchomel was particularly effective on the left flank for the Czechs, though his effort ultimately missed the target, saving England from conceding – a fate they avoided throughout the previous tournament.

Fortunately for the title holders, they found the net six minutes prior to half-time.

Tino Livramento’s cross nearly deflected off a defender, but James McAtee was alert to the situation, passing it back to Harvey Elliott, who added to his tally from qualifying by firing low through the legs of Lukas Hornicek.

England then faced a scare just before the interval when James Beadle averted disaster by preventing Jarell Quansah from inadvertently scoring an own goal. However, the Czech goalkeeper was less fortunate just after the second half got underway.

Jonathan Rowe’s slight touch on Livramento’s low cross distracted Hornicek, who failed to collect it cleanly, nudging it over the line himself.

However, Jan Suchoparek’s team quickly regrouped and soon pulled one back with Daniel Fila rising to head in Vaclav Sejk’s inswinging cross, putting the home crowd into a frenzy.

Nevertheless, England’s performance only improved, with Charlie Cresswell sealing the victory by heading in from Alex Scott’s corner.

This win places England in a strong position to qualify from Group B alongside Germany, while the Czech Republic will need to rapidly turn their fortunes around if they wish to avoid being eliminated at the group stage for a fifth consecutive time in this tournament.