The European Under 21 Championships kicked off in Sweden on Monday (June 15th) with a couple of pretty good games.

England got the three points they so desperately wanted with a 2-1 win over Finland. However, there were a few rocky moments for them a long the way, with the worst one being the sending off of Michael Mancienne in the 31st minute for a professional foul on Berat Sadik in the penalty box.

England were already in the lead by then though, as Lee Cattermole gave them an early lead in the 15th minute after Gabriel Agbonlahor set him up. Tim Sparv tied the game up at 1-1 in the 33rd minute as Mancienne’s red card had led to a spot kick for Finland. Sparv sent keeper Joe Hart the wrong way with a fine penalty.

England’s brightest star and national squad member Theo Walcott of Arsenal was taken off at half time and replaced by Fraizer Campbell.

Micah Richards scored on a fantastic header in the 53rd minute off of a corner by James Milner to give England the 2-1 win and they did enough the rest of the way to hang on to the win. They are a huge three points as Spain, and Germany are also in Group B with them.

While England manager Stuart Pearce was happy with the points, especially with 10 men, he said the team needs to get better if they have any chance of winning the tournament.

“What we need to show is more ability. That performance, for this standard of team, wasn’t good enough. They know it before I even tell them. We have to improve on that. I’ve got three points, I’m pleased. I’m delighted with the points. We need to get better than that and we are better than that.”

They won’t have to wait long to see if they are better as they take on Spain on Thursday (June 18th), and Germany will take on Finland.

In the other Group B game, Spain and Germany played to a 0-0 draw in a game that produced quite a few good scoring chances along with some pretty good saves. The result was actually the best thing England could have hoped for as it allowed them to sit atop the group on their own for the time being.

Spain had most of the possession in the first half, but the Germans’ counterattack was pretty impressive. Spain came close to taking the lead, but Jose Chico was beaten by a good save from keeper Manuel Neur, and Marc Torrejon, saw his powerful header slam off the crossbar.

Germany then hit the post just before the half time whistle as Marko Marin’s shot nicked the outside of the post.

Germany had the better chances in the second half, but Spanish keeper Asenjo pulled off a series of fine saves to earn his side a point. None of them were bigger than in injury time when Anis Ben-Hatira almost won it for Germany, but Asenjo again the hero.

England’s under-21 side scraped through their opening game of the European Under-21 Championships as they saw off a Finland side 2-1 in unconvincing style. In a match that England played largely with only ten men, Stuart Pearce’s men were unable to display the charisma and style that the manager would have been hoping for. Lee Cattermole put England ahead before Michael Mancienne gave away a penalty and was subsequently sent off for his trouble. Manchester City defender, Micah Richards, spared England any blushes when he sent a bullet header into the corner of the goal from an England corner in the second half.

England will need to improve a lot on this performance if they want to have any chance of being able to compete against the better sides in the competition. However, they can take heart from the fact that they showed an ability to be able to grind out a result from a truly bad performance and it is unlikely they will be this poor again. Finland could have had some late goals but the point is that England got their first points on the board and Pearce probably won’t be too concerned about how the side plays if they manage to win their games. There is a slight cause to worry because in the later match that day Spain showed some glimpses of real class and it seems as though they would have played England off the park had the Spaniards been the opposition and not the Finns.





It is all experience for Pearce’s young side and doubtless they will already be working away today on stamping out the mistakes ahead of their next game. England have been tipped by a lot of pundits to make a big impression in the competition but the inconsistency prevents them from gaining momentum. In the friendly matches leading up to the first official game England had been on top form and scoring goals at will. The defence was looking solid but as is so often the case with huge competitive matches, when the important stuff kicks in, supposedly lesser sides raise their game and England may have been caught napping yesterday.

It wouldn’t have been complacency, as Pearce would not have allowed this to creep into the side. England teams always start slowly in big tournaments and this should be a worry for the side and an incentive to quickly eradicate the errors that would not be left unpunished against a better side. If they want any chance of repeating their heroics from last year they will need to rapidly improve.

There is no doubt that Pearce would have been quite vocal both at half time and after the match. This is for the simple reason that this England side is better than this. They will want to stamp their authority and brand all over the tournament and it was disappointing to see them resistant to rise to the occasion. Hopefully they are saving up the big performances for the big matches.