OneFootball
Joel Sanderson-Murray·25 June 2023
OneFootball
Joel Sanderson-Murray·25 June 2023
There were places in the quarter-finals of the Euro U21 up for grabs on Sunday with England, Germany and France all in action.
Here’s what went down.
Scorers: Olise 57′
France moved to within a point of qualification for the quarter-finals with a 1-0 win over Norway.
Having had the bulk of the chances in the first half, Sylvain Ripoll’s men took the lead in the 57th minute when Michael Olise slotted home from six yards out after some lovely build-up play led to Amine Adli teeing up the winger for his first Under 21’s goal.
Olise would go off injured just minutes later, which will be of concern to any Crystal Palace fan.
Despite having more of the ball, Norway struggled to create any chances, having just one shot on target as they fell to defeat.
While France are nearly certain to be in the last eight, Norway are left needing a win against Italy and a favour from the French in their final group game with Switzerland.
Scorers: Gordon 16′, Smith Rowe 68′.
England booked their quarter-final place after a polished performance against Israel with Nottingham Forest midfielder Morgan Gibbs-White the star of the show.
Lee Carsley’s side moved ahead just after the 15 minute mark after a well-worked team move with Gibbs-White picking out Newcastle forward Anthony Gordon to nod into the bottom corner from 10 yards out.
Emile Smith Rowe, who added a second on matchday one against Czech Republic, was at it again to put the game to bed after another brilliant team goal.
The Arsenal man played a one-two with Gibbs-White before drilling a low strike into the back of the net with the help of the woodwork.
Scorers: Sejk 33′, Vitik 87′; Stiller 70′.
Czech Republic stunned Germany with a 87th-minute winner to leave their qualification hopes in tatters.
The Czechs moved ahead midway through the first half following a quick counter-attack with Vasil Kušej finding Václas Sejk at the back post to slide in.
It looked as if Germany were going to follow the struggles of their senior side in recent weeks until midfielder Angelo Stiller pulled one out of the bag to get his team back on level footing.
The Hoffenheim man drove towards the edge of the area before making the room for a long-range effort shot which rifled into the corner.
However there was still one last sting in the tale as the Czechs nicked the win late on after Germany had failed to clear a corner allowing Martin Vitik to scramble the ball over the line courtesy of a deflection.
The result means Czech Republic leapfrog Germany into the second qualifying spot with a two-point gap ahead of the final game.
Scorers: Imeri 47′, Amdouni 52′; Pirola 6′, Gnonto 11′, Parisi 45+4′.
Italy survived a second-half comeback from Switzerland to pick up their first win of the tournament.
The Italians scored two in the opening 11 minutes to take control of the contest with Lorenzo Pirola climbing at the back to head Sandro Tonali’s corner home.
Leeds United forward Wilfried Gnonto doubled the advantage moments later, bundling the ball over the line after his initial header was saved following good work from Raoul Bellanova.
Wing-back Fabiano Parisi poked home the third in first-half stoppage time to seemingly put the game beyond all doubt.
But a remarkable start to the second half turned the game into chaos with the Swiss scoring two goals in five minutes.
Kastriot Imeri curled a wonder strike into the top corner from the edge of the area before Zeki Amdouni’s finish made it game on.
Patrick Rahmen’s pushed for a stunning equaliser but to no avail in the end meaning both sides head into the final matchday on three points apiece.
France will seal their passage to the quarter-finals with a win.
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