Euro U21 roundup: Czechs snatch win from Germans, England and France advance to quarters
Group A
Czech Republic 2 Germany 1
The Czech Republic breathed new life into their European Under-21 Championship campaign as a dramatic 2-1 victory over Germany earned Jan Suchoparek’s side a first triumph over their neighbours since 2009.
Coming into the contest on the back of a 2-0 defeat to England in their Group C opener, the Czech Republic knew a positive result was needed to keep their hopes of qualifying for the knockout stages alive.
A clash with three-time winners Germany looked a daunting prospect on paper however, and it was Antonio Di Salvo’s side who started on the front foot, with Josha Vagnoman curling a long-range strike narrowly wide and Angelo Stiller seeing a free-kick superbly saved by Vitezslav Jaros.
Determined to make their early pressure count, Germany continued to probe for an opener, but Jaros again came to the Czech’s rescue, saving brilliantly from Vagnoman.
Grateful to still be level after a one-sided opening half-hour, Suchoparek’s side gradually grew into the match and took a shock lead in the 33rd minute when Vaclav Sejk tapped home in the six-yard box after a marauding run from Vasil Kusej.
Trailing at the break, Germany emerged after the restart eager to regain control of the contest, but Kevin Schade and Nelson Weiper both saw efforts thwarted by the impressive Jaros as the Czechs looked to protect their lead heading into the final 25 minutes.
Undeterred by Jaros’ heroics, Germany finally made their pressure count with a deserved equaliser in the 70th minute, as Stiller received a clever pass from Henning Matriciani before rifling a low effort into the bottom-right corner.
That goal set up a fascinating finale with both sides determined to find a late winner. Germany looked the more likely with long periods of possession in the Czech half, but it was Suchoparek’s men who found the all-important finishing touch with three minutes of normal time remaining, as Martin Vitik struck a deflected effort beyond Noah Atubolu.
Victory sees the Czechs move up to second in the group, needing only a point from their final match against Israel to progress to the knockout stages for the first time since 2011.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Vitezslav Jaros (Czech Republic)
England 2 Israel 0
Lee Carsley’s England side cruised their way to the last-16 of the Championships with a comfortable victory over Israel, ending a run of five group stage eliminations from the previous six tournaments.
Read the full report and see all the match stats here.
Group B
Switzerland 2 Italy 3
Italy recorded a second consecutive win against Switzerland and kept their hopes of reaching the Championship knockout stages alive with a nervy victory that saw the Swiss comeback from 3-0 to almost level the scores.
Read the full report and see all the match stats here.
Norway 0 France 1
France breezed through to the quarter-finals thanks to 1-0 victory over Norway. Crystal Palace star Michael Olise netted the only goal of the game after half-time as his side maintained their 100% record in the tournament so far and put in a performance that was much more dominant than the scoreline may suggest.
Read the full report and see all the match stats here.
