England U21 vs Israel U21 – LIVE!
England booked their place in the knockout stages of the European Under-21 Championship as they eased to a 2-0 win against Israel. After an opening victory against the Czech Republic, England knew that another three points would be enough to reach the quarter-finals, regardless of what happens in their final Group C clash with Germany.
Emile Smith Rowe was brought into the starting lineup and he very nearly had a goal to show for it in the opening minutes, but the offside flag was raised as his backheel found the bottom corner. The Young Lions got the goal they deserved though, as Morgan Gibbs-White’s cross was headed home by Anthony Gordon.
Gibbs-White was again the provider with 20 minutes remaining, laying the ball off to Smith Rowe, and the Arsenal man did the rest as he fired into the bottom corner from just outside the area for his second goal of the tournament.
GOAL! Smith Rowe doubles the lead
GOAL! Gordon heads England in front
OFFSIDE! Smith Rowe backheel ruled out
19:03 , Matt Verri
England booked their place in the knockout stages of the European Under-21 Championship as they eased to a 2-0 win against Israel.
After an opening victory against the Czech Republic, England knew that another three points would be enough to reach the quarter-finals, regardless of what happens in their final Group C clash with Germany.
And Lee Carsley’s side got the job done with minimal fuss, as Anthony Gordon’s first-half header gave the Young Lions the lead, before Emile Smith Rowe put the result beyond doubt with 20 minutes remaining. England will knock defending champions Germany out if they avoid defeat when the teams meet on Wednesday.
Read our full report here!
18:53 , Matt Verri
Easy as you like!
Two wins for England and they are through to the quarter-finals with a match to spare.
They’ve topped Group C, perfect start to the tournament for Lew Carsley’s side.
18:50 , Matt Verri
90+1 mins: Four minutes added on.
Johnson and Colwill both down after being cleaned out, Israel losing their heads in the closing stages. And now Ramsey gets a shove for his troubles.
18:47 , Matt Verri
88 mins: Palmer wriggles his way through the challenges in the box, eventually the door is slammed shut.
The Czech Republic are now beating Germany again – the defending champions will need to beat England on Wednesday to avoid an early exit as it stands!
18:42 , Matt Verri
83 mins: Still a bit of needle in this match, despite most of it being played at walking pace.
Ramsey penalised for a shove off the ball – Ashley Cole not impressed at all on the touchline.
18:39 , Matt Verri
80 mins: Final change for England, Gibbs-White replaced by Ramsey. So much depth in this Young Lions squad.
Ramsey very nearly has an assist with his first touch as it squares it to Elliott, heavy touch though and the chance goes.
18:34 , Matt Verri
75 mins: It’s all got a bit heated all of a sudden.
Israel think Jones has thrown an elbow, but his reaction came after he was caught himself.
Hagag and Jones both shown yellow cards after that shoving match – the Liverpool man not happy at all with the initial elbow on him.
18:32 , Matt Verri
73 mins: England really should be 3-0 up, Israel falling apart a bit now.
Elliott plays Archer in, poor first touch takes him wide and his shot from a tight angle is smothered.
18:28 , Matt Verri
70 mins: Smith Rowe’s final touch of the match – not a bad one!
He’s replaced by Elliott, while Skipp is on for Gomes.
18:27 , Matt Verri
Smith Rowe with his second of the tournament!
That surely puts the result to bed. Lovely England move, ends with Smith Rowe lashing home from just outside the box. Great finish.
18:25 , Matt Verri
66 mins: All of a sudden Israel have decided to attack, realising it’s probably a good idea to try and score considering they’re losing.
Shot blocked from distance, before a clipped cross to the back post floats out of play. They’re pressing much higher up the pitch now.
18:22 , Matt Verri
63 mins: Smith Rowe clipped out wide, decent position this for England to whip something into the box.
Gibbs-White does just that, but Peretz is off his line to palm it away confidently. Good goalkeeping that.
18:19 , Matt Verri
60 mins: First England changes of the evening.
Madueke off, with the help of a couple of shoves. Gordon also making away. Palmer and Archer the two to come on.
18:16 , Matt Verri
57 mins: Israel have barely left their own box since the break, let along their half. England completely dominant.
Still don’t have that second goal to show for it, but Israel are offering nothing in attack.
18:13 , Matt Verri
54 mins: England again want a penalty, again the referee waves away the appeals.
Smith Rowe slides the pass inside, Gibbs White goes down as he’s challenged by a couple of Israel defenders… would have been fairly soft.
18:11 , Matt Verri
52 mins: Gibbs-White can’t find space for the shot on the edge of the box, Gordon then flicks a header on and it just bounces away from Smith Rowe.
England pushing for a second here, one that put them in complete control of this match and Group C.
18:08 , Matt Verri
49 mins: That is woeful from Madueke.
Gibbs-White slides him through, Gordon is waiting for a tap-in if it’s squared but the Chelsea man goes for goal and shanks it miles wide.
Then turns to Gordon and says he should have told him he was open. I suspect he did…
18:06 , Matt Verri
47 mins: Gordon in behind for England, goes down in the box… referee not interested.
Lemkin it was who came charging back to challenge him, Gordon was definitely looking for it. No VAR in this tournament… make the most of it.
18:03 , Matt Verri
Up and running for the second-half in Georgia!
Hagag on for Khalaili at the break.
18:00 , Matt Verri
Plenty of options on the bench for Lee Carsley to turn to in the second-half, including Cole Palmer and Jacob Ramsey.
Here’s a reminder of the full list of substitutes for England this evening…
Subs: Thomas, Skipp, Archer, Ramsey, Branthwaite, Griffiths, Cresswell, Elliott, Palmer, Rushworth
17:55 , Matt Verri
Czech Republic are beating Germany at half-time in the other match in Group C – it’s 1-0 at the break.
As it stands, Germany have big problems. The defending champions are on just one point from their opening two matches, and have to play England next.
Early flight home?
17:49 , Matt Verri
Azulay with the free-kick… turned behind by Trafford! And there’s no time to take the corner, that’s half-time.
England in control but only one goal to show for it, with Anthony Gordon’s header the difference after 45 minutes.
17:47 , Matt Verri
45 mins: Free-kick to Israel, just outside the box. And I do mean just.
Johnson it is who is shown the yellow card, bringing down Jaber as the wing-back chested it past him.
17:43 , Matt Verri
41 mins: Madueke looks to take on Layous on the outside, defender sees it coming a mile off though. Gets across and the Chelsea man gives away the free-kick as he pulls Layous back.
England have not really offered anything since taking the lead, been happy to just keep the ball considering how easy it’s been. Dangerous while it’s only 1-0.
17:40 , Matt Verri
38 mins: Messy from England, Smith Rowe has a couple of chances to clear his lines but doesn’t do so either time.
Khalaili knocks it off him and Israel will have a corner. Taken short, clipped to the back post and drops for Johnson, who boots it away.
17:38 , Matt Verri
36 mins: Good chance for England to break, as Smith Rowe intercepts a loose pass and plays it through to Gibbs-White.
Wide to Madueke, who takes too long on the ball though and eventually hit attempt at a cut back is cleared away.
17:35 , Matt Verri
33 mins: Smith Rowe looks for the switch to Madueke, headed out for a throw-in.
In the other match in Group C, Germany have fallen behind against the Czech Republic. As it stands the defending champions would have just one point heading into the final match against England. Big problems.
17:32 , Matt Verri
30 mins: Israel with no interest at all in pressing, so easy for England in possession.
Colwill and Harwood-Bellis are having an incredibly easy time of it at the back, with Gomes getting on the ball in front of them at will.
17:29 , Matt Verri
27 mins: Johnson has spent most of the last few minutes either on the floor or limping around. Been caught a couple of times, on the knee and ankle. Not moving well.
England a bit short of options as it is, with Aarons ill and Garner filling in at right-back. Johnson looks fine to continue.
17:26 , Matt Verri
24 mins: Gandelman tries his luck from a mile out, flies two miles over the bar. Doubt he’ll be trying that again.
Hot evening in Georgia and you can tell, not a huge amount of intensity in the match.
17:23 , Matt Verri
21 mins: Pace of the game has eased right off, England knocking the ball around at walking pace.
Urgency is coming from the Young Lions’ front-line, Smith Rowe and Gibbs White in particular look really sharp when they combine.
17:20 , Matt Verri
18 mins: England almost in straight away, Madueke on the right.
Time to pick someone out, way too much on the cross though and he hammers it over everyone. Johnson unable to keep it in play on the far side.
17:18 , Matt Verri
ENGLAND TAKE THE LEAD!
Just as Israel were having a decent spell.
Gibbs-White does brilliantly down the left, making the run in behind and then picking out Gordon, who nods home from six yards out.
17:16 , Matt Verri
14 mins: England starting to come under a bit of pressure.
Madueke thinks he’s been fouled, whistle doesn’t go though and Israel are on the attack. Layous takes on Garner, but the England man gets his body in the way and sees the ball out.
17:14 , Matt Verri
12 mins: Better from Israel, Khalaili wins a throw for his side by the corner flag. This will be flung into the box by Jaber.
Decent length on it, but Johnson is there in his own six-yard box to head it away. Gordon looks to break for England, quickly tripped up.
17:11 , Matt Verri
9 mins: Really good defending.
Gordon pounces on a loose pass and gets to the byline, flicked back to Gibbs-White but he can’t get the shot away.
Comes to Jones, he does fire an effort at goal… big block. Israel just about hanging on.
17:09 , Matt Verri
7 mins: Israel have barely had a kick in the opening stages, England have flown out of the blocks. So confident on the ball.
Smith Rowe drives inside, ball worked out to Garner. He looks to play a low cross into the six-yard box, it’s blocked and Israel can clear.
17:06 , Matt Verri
4 mins: Nearly stunning!
Glorious football from England, one-touch football carves Israel open and the ball falls for Smith Rowe in the box. He back heels it into the bottom corner, but the offside flag is up.
17:04 , Matt Verri
2 mins: Confident start from England, seeing plenty of the ball as you’d expect.
Gordon makes a nice run in behind, fires the ball inside to Gibbs-White but the one-two doesn’t quite come off.
17:01 , Matt Verri
Up and running in this Group C clash!
16:56 , Matt Verri
Teams are out onto the pitch.
England have not win this tournament since 1984 – victory here and they will at least be guaranteed a place in the knockout stages.
16:49 , Matt Verri
It’s a sunny evening in Kutaisi… fair to say the stadium is not sold out. Hardly anyone inside.
Couple of Israel flags dotted around, and a group of fans all in Liverpool shirts. Not sure we’re going to be filing this atmosphere under ‘raucous’.
16:40 , Matt Verri
Warm-ups are almost done in Georgia.
Kick-off coming up in about 20 minutes, as England look to pick up their second win of the group stage.
Anything other than three points would be a surprise, for all Israel are capable of making things difficult.
16:29 , Matt Verri
Cole Palmer has already picked up three medals this season with Manchester City, but the 21-year-old is confident he can still add to that collection before heading off on holiday.
“When you look at the trophies we have won this season, it couldn’t have gone any better,” Palmer said.
“It has been a great season and the emotions of the last week have been crazy – lifting the Premier League, beating Manchester United in the FA Cup final and then winning the Champions League.
“Hopefully we can now go on and lift the Under-21 EURO – it wouldn’t be a bad season for trophies, would it?”
16:16 , Matt Verri
Germany take on Czech Republic this evening, kicking off at the same time as England’s match.
Whatever happens in that game, England will be through to the knockout stages with a match to spare if they can beat Israel.
Would be a big boost for them, rather than leaving work to be done against Germany in the final group-stage game.
16:07 , Matt Verri
Emile Smith Rowe starts for England, with Jacob Ramsey dropping to the bench. Looks like the Arsenal man will start on the left of the three behind Gordon, with Morgan Gibbs-White in a central position and Noni Madueke on the right.
The other change comes at the back, with the ill Max Aarons missing out and Ben Johnson coming in at left-back.
16:01 , Matt Verri
Starting XI: Peretz, Jaber, Laios, Revivo, Cohen, Lemkin, Khalaili, Gandelman, Azulay, Gloukh, Turgeman
Subs: Tzarfati, Blorian, Bar, Morgan, Hajaj, Hoffmeister, Preda, Abu Rumi, Bilu
15:52 , Matt Verri
Starting XI: Trafford; Garner, Harwood-Bellis, Colwill, Johnson; Gomes, Jones; Madueke, Gibbs-White, Smith Rowe; Gordon
Subs: Thomas, Skipp, Archer, Ramsey, Branthwaite, Griffiths, Cresswell, Elliott, Palmer, Rushworth
15:42 , Matt Verri
England U21 manager Lee Carsley believes Newcastle star Anthony Gordon can offer something different up front.
Carsley’s team selection in beating the Czech Republic saw him pick seven midfielders, with Newcastle winger Gordon playing as a striker.
“We’ve tried to come up with two or three ways of exploiting the opposition,” the England U21 manager said.
“We’ll try and find gaps and spaces. It surprises me that there is surprise (at his team selection). The players nowadays are multi-functional.
“I see that we’ve got a lot of players within this squad that can do different roles. Part of the squad selection was having that flexibility to play with a different kind of nine (striker).
“I see pretty much any of the forward players, whether they’re wide players or forwards, being able to do that nine. You get a different type of nine with Anthony than you would with Cole (Palmer) or Curtis (Jones) or Emile (Smith Rowe).”
15:31 , Matt Verri
This is the first time that England have won their U21 Euros opener since 2009, when they reached the final with a team featuring James Milner, Micah Richards and Theo Walcott.
Speaking after the win over the Czech Republic, boss Lee Carsley said: “It was important that we got off to a really good start. Getting the win in the first game is always so important. We were aware of the record from the past.
“I thought it was important that we started the first game with players that have been playing a lot for their clubs, especially towards the end of the season. We felt that it would help us and it did.”
15:23 , Matt Verri
Far from routine for Israel as they picked up a point against Germany last time out.
They saved two penalties, played 45 minutes with ten men… still earned a draw against the defending champions!
🇮🇱 Peretz saves two penalties!#U21EURO pic.twitter.com/NPE8GhK2m8
— #U21EURO (@UEFAUnder21) June 25, 2023
15:14 , Matt Verri
Chelsea defender Levi Colwill says he is dreaming of winning his first silverware as a player at the European U21 Championship.
In a lively opener against the Czech Republic in Batumi, Georgia on Thursday, England sealed a 2-0 win courtesy of second-half strikes from Aston Villa’s Jacob Ramsey and Emile Smith Rowe of Arsenal. England face Israel in their second Group C game on Sunday, and Gareth Southgate will be in attendance in Kutaisi.
Colwill, who impressed this season on loan from Chelsea at Brighton, started at centre-back against the Czech Republic despite joining the squad late having trained with the senior England side over the past week.
“I really enjoyed training with the seniors”, Colwill said. “I learned so much, but I always had this tournament in the back of my mind. It’s such a big thing for me because I haven’t won a trophy in my professional career yet. This would be the best way to start, and hopefully do well.
“When you see the top pros at Brighton and at the [England] seniors, their levels are so high. It drives me to be regarded as a great player like they are.”
15:06 , Matt Verri
It was goalless at the break in England’s opponent match, and they had to survive a couple of dangerous moments in the first-half.
But the Young Lions took the lead through Jacob Ramsey and Emile Smith Rowe then had the simplest of finishes deep into stoppage-time to seal victory.
14:58 , Matt Verri
Israel showed against Germany that they are not an easy side to break down, and England could have to be patient once again.
The Young Lions should have enough to make it two wins from two though, giving them a perfect start before the focus turns to a clash with Germany.
England to win, 2-0.
14:50 , Matt Verri
Emile Smith Rowe scored England’s second goal late on against the Czech Republic, set up by Cameron Archer after the pair both came off the bench, and both are pushing to start tonight
Arsenal midfielder Smith Rowe may have to settle for a place among the substitutes again, but Archer could come into the side should manager Lee Carsley decide to go with an out-and-out striker this time. Either Anthony Gordon or Morgan Gibbs-White would likely drop to the bench.
James Garner looks set to keep his place after impressing in an unfamiliar right-back role, with Max Aarons filling in on the opposite side of defence.
Levi Colwill should partner Taylor Harwood-Bellis again in the middle of the back four, with the pair looking for more of the same after that opening clean sheet.
Predicted England U21 XI: Trafford, Garner, Harwood-Bellis, Colwill, Aarons, Jones, Gomes, Ramsey, Madueke, Gibbs-White, Archer
14:43 , Matt Verri
TV channel and live stream: The game will be shown on UEFA’s website. Kick-off is at 5pm BST.
Live blog: You can also follow all the action right here with us!
14:32 , Matt Verri
Hello and welcome to Standard Sport’s LIVE coverage of England vs Israel at the European Under-21 Championship!
Lee Carsley’s side got their tournament off to a winning start against the Czech Republic, and the Young Lions look to back that up this evening.
We’ll have all the latest updates, build-up and team news ahead of kick-off, which comes at 5pm BST from the Ramaz Shengelia Stadium.