Harvey Elliott, Cresswell shine as England Beat Czech Republic to start Euro Under-21 on winning note

England made a solid start to its European Championship Under-21 title defence with a 1-3 victory against the Czech Republic. Harvey Elliott opened the scoring for England after he found the back of the net in the 39th minute.

Despite dealing with several challenges following a number of squad withdrawals in the build-up to the tournament in Slovakia, England Head coach Lee Carsley managed to name an attacking side for the defending champions ahead of their opening match.

England took the lead in the 39th minute when Tino Livramento had a cross deflected into the area, and the ball fell to captain James McAtee, who lined up Liverpool's Elliott to deliver a low shot into the net.


Livramento again found himself in the centre of the action three minutes into the second half. He managed to beat his man with skill, and his low cross into the box received a slight touch from Jonathan Rowe, beating Czech goalkeeper Lukas Hornicek and giving a 0-2 lead to England.

With the scoreline reading 0-2 and backs against the wall, the Czech Republic pulled one back just three minutes later when Daniel Fila headed in Vaclav Sejk's chipped cross. England sealed the match when Charlie Cresswell headed in Alex Scott's curling corner after 76 minutes.

England, in its opening match, was seen dominating the ball, having 68.4% of possession. The James McAtee-led side had more touches in the box than their opponents. The Czech Republic had 12 touches in England's penalty area compared to the 33 the Young Lions had in theirs.

England will continue its campaign on Sunday when they will lock horns against Slovenia in the second round of matches in Group B, while the Czech Republic take on Germany on the same day.