Czechia U21 v England U21

• England come into the game as favourites having won eight of their 10 qualifying matches, scoring 41 goals in the process.

• Czechia are the only side in the group that failed to top their qualifying group.

• England should be slightly sharper than Czechia, seeing as they had four friendlies to prepare for the tournament while Czechia only had one, which they lost.

England kick off their EURO U21 Championship campaign against Czechia, hoping to retain the trophy after their victory in 2023. Lee Carsley leads the side into the tournament just as he did in 2023, following a brief interim spell as the senior sides’ head coach.

Czechia are the only side in this group that didn’t manage to top their qualifying group, with even Slovenia managing to beat France to top spot during qualifying. They’ll face a tough challenge in this first matchday against the reigning champions of the competition.

⭐ Czechia U21 v England U21 Predictions and Best Bets

England are strong favourites at 1.44 to get their campaign off to a winning start, and they have the quality to do so. Lee Carsley’s side won eight of their 10 games in qualifying for the tournament, scoring 41 goals in the process, which was unsurprisingly more than any other side in their group.

The England U21 squad is stacked with talent in all areas of the pitch, and they shouldn’t have too many issues getting through this group. Their main challengers will be Germany, who are one of the favourites alongside England to lift the trophy. 

Given England’s strong qualifying campaign and level of depth, they should be able to come out comfortable winners against a Czechia side that are the weakest in the group and will likely be the most straightforward task of this tournament for the Three Lions.

🔴 Czechia Face Tough Task in a Group Full of Contenders

Czechia are certainly the underdogs in this group and are priced at 67.0 to win the tournament, which suggests that getting out of the group will be a difficult task, especially against England, Germany and Slovenia - all sides that managed to top their qualifying groups.

Czechia finished 2nd in their qualifying group behind Denmark. They won four of their eight matches, but did concede 11 goals across these games, which doesn’t make for good reading coming up against a free-scoring England side that averaged 4.1 goals per game during their qualifying campaign.

Czechia have only played one friendly match in preparation for this tournament, which ended in a 2-0 defeat to Norway. England had four friendly games to prepare for this tournament, so you’d expect the Three Lions to be a bit sharper than their opponents, especially in the latter stages of the game.

⚪ Talented England U21 Side Poised for Another Deep Run

England will fancy their chances of defending their EURO U21 title after lifting the trophy in 2023. Lee Carsley was a massive part of that success, and his presence in the dugout could be crucial with the experience he has at this level.

There are so many players that could stand out for England, as the squad is littered with talent. However, amongst all this talent, Ethan Nwanieri stands out as someone who could be the star to carry England deep in this competition.

Nwanieri is coming off the back of his breakout season for Arsenal in which he registered 11 goal contributions despite only being 18 years old. He’s been a standout performer throughout the age groups for England, and you get the feeling that a senior call-up isn’t too far away, with similarities to Cole Palmer’s breakthrough via this competition in 2023, in which he scored in the final. 

The presence of Premier League regulars such as Tino Livramento, Elliot Anderson, Omari Hutchinson and Archie Gray is a talent pool that few other sides can boast in this competition and should take the Three Lions deep in the tournament.

📊 Czechia U21 v England U21 Head-to-Head Key Stats

These sides faced off in the group stages during England’s run to lifting the trophy in 2023. The squad has changed a lot from that tournament, with many players progressing to the senior side, but England managed to come away 2-0 winners.

England have won the last four head-to-head meetings between the sides, with Czechia’s only triumph over the Three Lions coming back in 2011, which saw Czechia run out 2-1 winners. There isn’t too much to draw from the H2H meetings, given how often the U21 squads change.

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* All odds displayed correct at the time of publishing.