England v Israel Euro U21 preview: Young Lions target quarter-finals
That victory saw the Young Lions roar to the top of Group C, which means they can better their 2021 group stage exit under Aidy Boothroyd by securing an early progression with victory over Israel here in Batumi.
Qualification is fully expected for England given their embarrassment of riches in terms of quality. In fact, this relatively star-studded roster scored 18 Premier League goals between them in 2022/23 and will be hungry to impress senior boss Gareth Southgate, who has made the trip across Europe to take in these games.
But whether talent alone will be enough to end a run of five group stage eliminations across the last six tournaments to lift the trophy for the first time since 1984 remains to be seen.
Looking to add to England’s recent poor record in this sphere is Israel, a side who valiantly held Germany to a 1-1 draw against the odds in the opening round despite having a man sent off.
Their squad on paper isn’t quite as impressive as England’s, with no Israel U21 player plying their trade in Europe’s top-five leagues, yet their mere presence here has to be commended after failing to qualify in 14 of their previous 16 attempts.
The next barrier to overcome is escaping the group stage for the very first time. The Young Chosen Team, as they’re nicknamed, finished one point shy of second place when hosting the tournament back in 2013, which included a 1-0 win over England!
Alas, repeating that feat will be no small task as Israel enter this clash on the back of their worst winless run in over a decade (D3, L2).
Players to watch: It was Aston Villa star Jacob Ramsey who scored the decisive opener for England in the first round, and he was coincidentally the highest scoring young Lion in the 2022/23 Premier League season (G6). Trying to outdo him will be 19-year-old Israel and RB Salzburg starlet Oscar Gloukh who helped the senior national side to a win over Belarus in the recent Euro qualifiers and assisted in the U21 side’s opening day draw!
Hot streak: England haven’t played out a stalemate since October 2021 (W11, L3), with seven victories in that run coming with an accompanying clean sheet.
