Day two of the tournament featured tournament favourites England and France in action. Much to the surprise of fans, both sides lost their opening fixtures. Elsewhere, there were wins for Portugal and Russia.
A quick look at the England U-21 roster for the European Championships, and one would understand why they are the favourites to win the competition. Head coach Aidy Boothroyd has had the privilege to call upon some of the most talented Premier League stars who remain eligible to play in the tournament.
Players such as Callum Hudson-Odoi (Chelsea), Eddie Nketiah (Arsenal), and Emil Smith-Rowe (Arsenal) all started for the Young Lions on Thursday against Switzerland. Joining them in the starting eleven were Premier League stalwarts Dwight McNeil, Tom Davies, Ben Godfrey, and Aaron Ramsdale. Despite featuring a line-up full of well-established stars, England were shocked in their opening U-21 Euros group game by Switzerland.
Boothroyd’s boys did not create much in this game – only one of their 12 shots ended up being on target. They did enjoy the majority of possession but could not make it count. Conversely, Switzerland took their chance when it mattered, despite surrendering the ball for much of the game to their opponents. Dan Ndoye got on the scoresheet in the 77th minute when the ball deflected off his foot and looped over Ramsdale in goal.
Meanwhile, the loss will feel familiar to England fans, who saw their side exit the same competition in the group stage two years ago. England next play Portugal in the current competition before taking on Croatia.
Croatia and Portugal, meanwhile, played their first match of the tournament against each other. The Esperancas featured Pedro Goncalves in attack, while AC Milan loanee Diogo Dalot and former Tottenham player Gedson Fernandes were also named in the starting eleven. Nonetheless, Portugal had to rely on substitutes Danny Mota and Fabio Vieira for the game’s only goal. The former provided the assist for the latter to score in this one.
Group C of the tournament featured matches between Russia and Iceland plus France and Denmark on day two. Russia recorded the biggest win of the competition so far, beating Iceland by four goals to one.
Fyodor Chalov gave the Russians the lead from the penalty spot in the first half. Two goals close to the break saw them finish the first half match with a three-goal lead. Denis Makarov put Russia four up shortly after the interval. Iceland pulled one back on the hour mark via Sveinn Aron Gudjohnsen, the former Chelsea and Barcelona striker Eidur Gudjohnsen.
In the other Group C game, one of the tournament’s favourites France were stunned by Denmark, who recorded a 1-0 win.
France started with a line-up featuring Jules Kounde, Wesley Fofana, Matteo Guendouzi, and Eduardo Camavinga. However, despite boasting a superior pool of talent, they did not create much. The match, overall, saw only nine shots, just three of which were on target. It was Denmark who scored the decisive strike through FC Midtjylland’s Anders Dreyer.
Les Bleuets reached the semi-finals in 2019 but were beaten by eventual winners Spain, 4-1. There were high hopes attached to the team this time, featuring a much stronger squad with several established players. A loss in their opening fixture is not the result they would have been hoping for.
However, not all is lost just yet. The competition’s new format will see two teams progress from each group. France are yet to play Russia and Iceland in their remaining group games, and a win in both should see them secure a spot in the knockout stage of the tournament.
