England U21 vs France U21
European Under-21 Championship
Venue: Stadio Dino Manuzzi, Cesena
Date: Tuesday, 18 June, 2019
Kick-off: 8:00pm BST
England begin their seventh successive European Under-21 Championship campaign against France at Cesena's Stadio Dino Manuzzi on Tuesday night.
Aidy Boothroyd's Young Lions are considered among the favourites for the 12-team tournament being played across Italy and San Marino, though their impressive 18-match unbeaten streak was ended by a narrow defeat to defending champions Germany in March.
That was the only loss inflicted upon 2017 semi-finalists England - whose impressive squad features the likes of Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Phil Foden, Ryan Sessegnon, Mason Mount, James Maddison and Tammy Abraham - in their last 20 matches and they will need to have their wits about them against a similarly-fancied French side spearheaded by Lyon frontman Moussa Dembele.
England, back-to-back winners in 1982 and 1984, also face Romania and Croatia in Group C over the next six days and Boothroyd has stressed the need for his players to make a fast start to the competition, with only group winners and the best runner-up advancing to the semi-finals.
"It is knockout football from day one," he said.
"You don't get the luxury of having a game to just assess things whether you win, lose or draw and then have the next game to accumulate some points.
"Whereas with this you are at it from the start. You know teams are going to need to attack to win the groups or claim the best runners-up spot. How does that change what we do?
"It doesn't really because we look to play and win every single game. That's what we've talked about. It isn't going to be as easy as just saying that but we are looking to win the game."
England team news and line-up
England U21: Henderson, Wan Bissaka, Tomori, Clarke-Salter, Dasilva, Maddison, Choudhury, Foden, Sessegnon, Solanke, Gray
Subs: Gunn, Dowell, Kenny, Kelly, Konsa, Barnes, Mount, Calvert-Lewin, Gibbs-White, Nelson, Abraham, Woodman
France U21: Bernardoni, Dagba, Konate, Upamecano, Ballo-Toure, Reine-Adelaide, Tousart, Aouar, Ikone, Dembele, Bamba
Subs: Larsonneur, Amian Adou, Del Castillo, Guendouzi, Mateta, Sarr, Niakhate, Sissoko, Caci, Thuram, Ntcham, Prevot
Referee: Srdjan Jovanovic (Serbia)
England Squad
Goalkeepers: Angus Gunn (Southampton), Dean Henderson (Man Utd), Freddie Woodman (Newcastle)
Defenders: Jake Clarke-Salter (Chelsea), Jay Dasilva (Chelsea), Lloyd Kelly (Bournemouth), Jonjoe Kenny (Everton), Ezri Konsa (Brentford), Fikayo Tomori (Chelsea), Aaron Wan-Bissaka (Crystal Palace)
Midfielders: Harvey Barnes (Leicester), Hamza Choudhury (Leicester), Kieran Dowell (Everton), Phil Foden (Man City), Morgan Gibbs-White (Wolves), James Maddison (Leicester), Mason Mount (Chelsea), Ryan Sessegnon (Fulham)
Score prediction: England U21 2-1 France U21
England to kick off their campaign with a narrow victory against a France side making their first finals appearance since 2006.
England U21 vs France U21 tickets
For European Under-21 Championship ticket information, click here.
Betting tips via Betfair | UK users only | Subject to change
Match odds
- England to win: 17/10
- Draw: 9/4
- France to win: 13/8
First goalscorer odds
- Tammy Abraham: 4/1
- Moussa Dembele: 5/1
- Jean-Philippe Mateta: 5/1
- Marcus Thuram: 5/1
- Dominic Calvert-Lewin: 6/1
Click here to find the latest match odds and place a bet.
TV channel and live stream, and online coverage
The match will be shown live on Sky Sports' Football channel, and is available via Now TV with a day pass on offer for £8.99. Sky Sports subscribers can stream the match online via SkyGo and the SkyGo app.
You can follow all the action with Standard Sport's LIVE blog.
Head to head (h2h) history and results
England and France have claimed two wins apiece in six previous U21 meetings, with two draws.
This is their first competitive clash since France won a Euro Play-Off 3-2 on aggregate back in November 2005.
France also bested England in friendly matches in 2009 and 2014 before beating the same opposition in Bondoufle in 2016 thanks in no small part to a brace from Dembele.
