UK: 18+ USA: 21+ | Begambleaware.org | T&Cs apply | Play Responsibly
After beating Portugal in the semi-finals of the u21 European Championships, England are now just one win away from reaching the final of the tournament for the first time since 2009. It was Anthony Gordon’s solitary goal that saw them overcome Portugal on Sunday evening with the Newcastle forward the standout player for the Three Lions so far.
England entered the tournament as one of the favourites and have performed exceptionally so far. In four matches at the tournament, Lee Carsley’s men have scored seven goals and conceded none as they have swept away Czechia, Israel, Germany and Portugal.
Their reward for beating a strong Portugal team is another meeting with Israel in the semi-finals. England beat Israel 2-0 in the group stages thanks to goals from Anthony Gordon and Emile Smith-Rowe and wouldn’t have expected to have faced them again given the apparent gulf between the two sides.
However, Guy Luzon’s men managed to sneak through in second place of Group C due to Germany’s poor performance at the tournament and their victory over Czechia in the final group game. They then beat co-hosts, Georgia u21s, in a nailbiting penalty shootout in the quarter-finals after a tense 0-0 draw to reach the semi-finals.
England U21s tournament odds
Contents
To win the tournament – 5/4
After producing four commanding displays so far, England are joint-favourites to go on and win the tournament from here, alongside Spain.
While England were tipped by many to have a good couple of weeks in Romania and Georgia due to their strong squad, there were some doubts about how they would fare against other top nations after losing back-to-back games against Japan and Croatia in the build-up to the tournament.
Carsley’s men put those doubts to bed in the group stages when they swatted away Germany thanks to two first-half goals from Cameron Archer and Harvey Elliott. That victory seems to have breathed new life into the squad and they have looked assured ever since. Providing both semi-finals go as expected, England will face Spain in a mouthwatering final next weekend.
England to reach the final – 1/6
According to the bookmakers, England have more than one foot in the European u21 Championship as they are priced at 1/6 to overcome Israel in their semi-final matchup on Wednesday evening. While much of this will be down to England’s form at the tournament so far, and the fact they have already beaten Israel at the event, the bookmakers have also priced this market based on a perceived lack of quality in the Israel squad.
Guy Luzon’s men have exceeded all expectations in Georgia and Romania thanks in main to some dogged defensive plays. At the other end of the pitch, they have only managed to score two goals in the tournament and will look to frustrate England on the night. If Israel can take it deep, then these odds of 1/6 will likely shorten very quickly.
Anthony Gordon to win the golden boot – 4/1
One of England’s standout players so far at the Championship has been Newcastle United winger, Anthony Gordon. The 22-year-old endured a difficult personal campaign last season after leaving Everton for the North East and struggled for minutes under Eddie Howe. However, for his country, Gordon has shown just why Newcastle spent £45m on him at the end of January.
Gordon has scored twice so far at the tournament and is just one goal behind Ukraine’s Heorhiy Sudakov in the race for the golden boot. Given that Ukraine face Spain next, Gordon has a legitimate shot at winning the award particularly if he can get himself on the scoresheet against Israel on Wednesday night.
Subscribe to Punditfeed on Google News for all the latest updates from the world of sports!
