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England’s U21 European Championship hopes are out of their own hands after goals from Dany Mota and Trincao gave a far superior Portugal a 2-0 win on Sunday.
Portugal should have been ahead before the break, with Ben Godfrey twice denying Mota with blocks to save goals, and a pair of saves by Aaron Ramsdale holding them at bay.
The Young Lions lasted just 19 minutes of the second period, finally finding themselves caught at halftime when Pedro Goncalves stole Oliver Skipp before feeding Mota, whose first effort kissed the far post on his way past Ramsdale.
England provided little in the final third, with rookie Noni Madueke shooting one of the few half chances for Aidy Boothroyd’s team, which has only managed one shot on goal in their two games at this year’s tournament to date.
15 minutes from the end they were dealt another blow when Marc Guehi was penalized for catching Goncalo Ramos’ foot inside the box, and a resounding penalty from the Barcelona striker Trincao sent Ramsdale down the wrong path from the penalty spot.
Trincao, who has played 36 times for Barcelona’s senior team this season, scored Portugal’s second from the spot after coming off the bench.
England must now beat Croatia in their final group match on Wednesday, and expect Portugal to do the same against Switzerland, or Aidy Boothroyd’s team will return home after the group stage for the fifth time in six tournaments.
Young Lions fail to roar as Portugal advances to victory
England seemed like a team playing with the pressure of knowing that their fate would be out of their control from the start. The match was barely four minutes old when Thierry Correia had room to find an unmarked Mota at the back post, and only Godfrey’s intervention on the line saved his teammates from a nightmare start in Ljubljana.
It took the Young Lions 23 minutes to give any hint of a threat, when Emile Smith Rowe, later substituted at halftime, found a way to get past Diogo Dalot before facing Ryan Sessegnon, who was denied a pass from a latest. -Abandon Correia’s intervention.
Godfrey again avoided England’s blushes before the break when Ramsdale threw a long-distance shot from Correira at Mota’s feet, and the lightning reactions of the Everton defender again saved England as they cleared for a corner.
Fabio Vieira, who started after his scoring exploits from the bench against Croatia, fired a warning shot 13 minutes into the second period after having moved behind England’s midfield, which would be caught shortly after for the first goal. .
Portuguese Dany Mota has scored five goals for Monza in Serie B in Italy this season, and could have had a hat-trick against England.
With Skipp tackled on the field, the Young Lions’ defense was exposed, and when Goncalves headed forward without a hint of an England tackle, he was able to find Mota’s run down the left, leaving the Monza striker to get in. ball at the far post. .
England brought in Conor Gallagher and Curtis Jones when they were forced to chase the game, but within minutes they faced a steeper climb after Guehi was penalized for an inadvertent blow to Ramos’ heel just inside their own box. , leaving Barcelona’s Trincao to beat Ramsdale from 12 yards.
Boothroyd threw on Rhian Brewster as England stacked numbers forward in the vain hope of a comeback, but still failed to deliver a single shot on goal even in the final minutes, and instead, Ramos came closer to adding another late goal to the spin inside Japhet Tanganga and shoot just past the far pole.
At the final whistle, the Young Lions were resigned to their defeat and with their eyes on the barrel of a fifth start in the group stage of six European Championships since their run to the final in 2009, which seems even more distant. after another lousy performance on the big stage.
What the manager said …
4:42
England U21 coach Aidy Boothroyd was deeply disappointed by his team’s 2-0 loss to Portugal, which left his U21 European Championship hopes hanging by the line.
England U21 coach Aidy Boothroyd: “It’s deeply disappointing. First of all, you have to give your opponent credit, they are a very good team and we have them on a very good day.
“But we didn’t create close enough like we used to, it’s a very disappointed locker room. That said, it’s mathematically possible and we’ll fight to the end.”
“We have come here to play three games and we fully intend to play three games correctly. But we came here looking to go into the final game with him still in our hands, and unfortunately we are not.
“Considering the amount of goals we scored before this, it was a real strength for this group. Creativity and scoring goals is part of who we are, so not shooting at their goal is not only disappointing, it is something we need. to rectify for the next game. “
England U21 under Boothroyd
Euro 2017
Nathan Redmond missed the decisive penalty in England U21’s penalty shootout loss to Germany at Euro 2017
Boothroyd took over the England Under-21s in the final two qualifying games and maintained an undefeated step to the final, where the Young Lions lost on penalties in the semi-final stage to Germany. England had drawn Sweden in their opening group match, but rallied to beat Slovakia and host Poland, before drawing Germany 2-2 in regulation time in the four-game finals.
Boothroyd said at the time: “We may not have been at our best for long periods, but we showed true British bulldog spirit. We could have done it, but that’s football. We have practiced, practiced and taken penalties, but the keeper made two good saves. It is It was a real effort, a real back-to-wall job at times. It’s been a long journey. The tournament has been fantastic. I’m sure there will be future senior players on this team. “
Outstanding names in the team: Jordan Pickford, Ben Chilwell, James Ward-Prowse, Demarai Gray and Tammy Abraham
Euro 2019
Mason Mount and Aidy Boothroyd after England U21’s defeat to Romania in Euro 2019
England again qualified for the finals without suffering defeat, but dramatic final goals from France and Romania saw England knocked out of the group stage with a match to spare. France scored in the 89th and 94th minutes for a 2-1 victory in the first match before eventual finalists Romania scored a 4-2 victory with goals in the 89th and 93rd minute, with the third coming by Dean Henderson’s error. To add salt to the wounds, Croatia scored a draw in the final 10 minutes to tie the third game of the dead rubber group 3-3.
Boothroyd said at the time: “I really thought we could do it, but Dean Henderson’s mistake, we all make mistakes and it’s important that we make sure he knows how important he is to us. If he doesn’t take a chance and isn’t disciplined enough to stand up, you’re going to be punished. To overcome this, we have to eliminate the positives. We are on the right track in terms of how we play the game, but we have to correct the mistakes. “
Outstanding names in the team: Dean Henderson, Fikayo Tomori, Mason Mount, James Maddison, Harvey Barnes, Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Phil Foden, Demarai Gray, Tammy Abraham
Whats Next? How to follow
You can watch England at the European Under-21 Championship live on Soccer Sky Sports and watch all other group stage matches live on Sky Sports Football YouTube.
The remaining England match will also be posted on a live blog on skysports.com and the Sky Sports app:
- England U21 vs Croatia U21 – Wednesday March 31, 5:00 pm; Bonifika Stadium, Koper (Soccer Sky Sports)
Complete accessories can be found here
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