England U21 v Poland U21
Thursday 22nd June, 19:45
Live on Sky Sports
All four Group A sides at the U21 European Championship still have a chance to finish top of the tree and gain automatic qualification to the semi-finals but England are in pole position having bounced back from falling behind to beat Slovakia 2-1 on Monday evening.
At half-time, the Young Lions were heading out of the tournament, trailing 1-0 and looking worryingly blunt. The first 45 minutes saw a familiar theme of England dominating possession but failing to create many clear-cut chances.
It was a situation that demanded a response and, to his credit, head coach Aidy Boothroyd found one. Strong words were exchanged between the players at the interval and Boothroyd made changes with Jacob Murphy brought on in place of Mason Holgate to add more aggression from an unfamiliar full‑back role.
An inspired England grew into the game and notched twice in 11 minutes to turn the tie on its head after the break, putting the youngsters within touching distance of a first semi‑final since 2009.
Boothroyd's boys deserve credit for standing firm under pressure towards the end of Monday's match; Calum Chambers and Alfie Mawson again formed a formidable centre-back partnership whilst Nathaniel Chalobah excelled again at the base of the midfield.
The midfield, so worryingly loose in the 0-0 draw against Sweden, was far more compact and began to work England's game-breaking players into threatening positions. And up top Tammy Abraham kept the Slovak defenders honest, finding plenty of space in the channels.
This may not have been a performance of overwhelming technical quality, but it drew on plenty of resilience. The feeling remains that England are yet to truly hit their stride, but this was a performance full of promise.
Boothroyd has now called on his players to give it their all in their final Group A match against Poland on Thursday night in Kielce. Should the Young Lions produce the same display we saw in the second period on Monday, England should have no problem justifying their 1.65 favourites tag.
Hosts Poland 6.40 kept their chances of making the final-four alive with a late 2-2 draw against Sweden. Dawid Kownacki's penalty in second half stoppage time denied the defending champions a victory and gave the White Eagles their first points in the competition.
For the second successive match Marcel Dorma's men started superbly, Lukasz Moneta firing the Poles into a sixth-minute lead. But the Swedes turned the tables on the hosts and deservedly found themselves in front before half-time.
Poland - needing a point to avoid crashing out of their own tournament - struggled to regain their early momentum and were on the back foot for the majority of the match. But the White Eagles did put the pressure on in the closing stages and found a breakthrough from the spot.
The hosts do not have strong record at U21 level and are competing in their first finals at this level since 1994. They were second-best in both Group A games thus far and are coming up against an English outfit unbeaten in 10 competitive outings and were rated third in UEFA's pre-tournament standings.
An England victory is fair enough at 1.65 considering they were 1.72 shouts against Slovakia whilst Abraham is an interesting 5/2 shot to net the opener. The Chelsea starlet is the Young Lions' most natural goalscorer having plundered 23 for Bristol City last season and has the instincts to net at a higher level.
Recommended Bets
Back England to win at 1.65
Back Tammy Abraham to score first at 5/2
Slovakia U21 v Sweden U21
Thursday 22nd June, 19:45
Live on Sky Sports
Slovakia 2.86 were in control of Group A and in a solid position at half-time of their second pool fixture against England but two goals in 11 minutes from the Young Lions has left Pavel Hapal's troops relying on results elsewhere.
Martin Chrien's perfectly-timed glancing header gave the group a deserved advantage against England and although Slovakia fought back bravely when behind, they were unable to force home a leveller.
Adam Zrelak - scorer of 10 goals in qualifying - unable to fashion any space in attack and although Hapal's men quality on the ball impressed again, the dark horses weren't given the same freedom in the final-third they enjoyed in their opening day win against Poland.
The free-scoring Slovaks beat the Netherlands home and away en-route to the finals and 12 of their squad have already tasted senior international experience. They've already showed they're strong enough to compete at this level with a pair of positive performances and shouldn't be dismissed at the prices on offer.
Opponents Sweden 2.46 have picked up two points thus far but the Blue-Yellow have been left frustrated by penalties. Linus Wahlqvist's saved spot-kick against England denied Hakan Ericson's men maximum points before a stoppage-time penalty from Poland saw the Swedes chuck away a winning position.
In both encounters the defending champions have performed with aplomb. Having come through a tough qualification pool unbeaten - finishing a point ahead of Spain and four clear of Croatia - the Swedes have impressed.
There are sides with greater individual talent but 12 players boast senior experience and the Blue-Yellow should be pleased with their progress, despite failing to pocket a victory from their first two fixtures.
The two nations know a win is vital to have any chance of progression and with qualification more or less out of their hands, I'm expecting an open, attacking and entertaining encounter with Over 2.5 Goals an attractive 1.74 shot.
With the majority of goal-based selections prohibitively short, I'm going to have a small interest in the 10/1 available for Both Teams To Score In Both Halves. Collectively these two teams have seen BTTS and Over 2.5 Goals selections bank in three of their four group-games and a repeat looks likely.
Recommended Bets
Back Over 2.5 Goals 1.74
Back Both Teams To Score In Both Halves (10/1)
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