Can England U21 escape the group stages of the European Championship for the first time since they won silver back in 2009?

On Monday England followed up their disappointing 0-0 opener against defending champions Sweden with a hard fought 2-1 victory over Slovakia. Boothroyd reportedly gave the side a talking to at half time, after they’d entered the changing rooms 1-0 down thanks to a 23rd minute strike from Martin Chrien. Whatever the manager said clearly worked – goals from Swansea defender Alfie Mawson and Southampton star Nathan Redmond within 15 minutes of the restart ended up giving England their first win of the tournament.



That leaves the Young Lions top of Group A on 4 points, with Slovakia on 3, Sweden on 2 and Poland on 1. Since the semi-finalists are comprised of the 3 group winners and the highest ranked runner-up England need a win to absolutely guarantee a place in the knockouts. The hosts, meanwhile, will crash out at the first hurdle if they don’t nab all 3 points from Thursday night’s Kolporter Arena-engagement.

Despite taking the lead within the 1st minute, and having the run of play for much of the game, Poland eventually lost their first game of the tournament 2-1 to Slovakia. It took a 91st minute penalty from Dawid Kowancki – who sits at a Super Mega PGM of 17-21 – to then rescue a point from their 2nd match against Sweden, the Poles once again throwing away a (very) early lead to fall 2-1 behind before the half time whistle.

There are a few England players yet to truly make their mark on the competition, namely forwards Tammy Abraham and Cauley Woodroow. Abraham, who Swansea just signed on loan from Chelsea, heads into Thursday at a Super Mega PGM of 38-44, while Woodrow, currently signed to Fulham, is at 27-32. Boothroyd could do with both finding their scoring boots if England are to stand any chance of reaching the final.

Getting to the semis shouldn’t be too much of an issue, however, with Spreadex offering an England U21/Poland U21 Goal Supremacy spread of 0.85-1.05 alongside a Total Goals spread of 2.95-3.15.