England conclude their group-stage campaign at the European Under-21 Championship with a key showdown against Germany tonight.
It’s not all been plain sailing for Lee Carsley’s defending champions in Slovakia so far this summer, with a routine opening 3-1 victory over Czechia followed by a frustrating stalemate against Slovenia on Sunday.
Germany, meanwhile, have already qualified for the quarter-finals after successive big wins and will be confirmed as Group B table-toppers if they avoid defeat at Stadion pod Zoborom in Nitra this evening.
England will book their place in the last eight by avoiding defeat, while a win will take them through as group winners.
The Young Lions would also go through if they lost, provided Slovenia do not beat Czechia at the same time at MOL Arena in Dunajska Streda.
“We all know what this game is about and how much weight it carries, so we try and remove a bit of that for the players, but they have looked very focused,” Carsley said on Tuesday.
“We talk about the players having personality on the ball and getting the ball, because it is really important that in the biggest moments of the biggest games, that is what we are trying to prepare these players for.
“We still want to win the group, so that's the challenge that we set the players. We have shown in patches that we have been good, but we can definitely be better. The chances that we have created, but then didn’t take [against Slovenia] is disappointing.”
How to watch England U21s vs Germany U21s
TV channel: In the UK, tonight’s match is being shown live and free-to-air on Channel 4, with coverage beginning at 7:30pm BST ahead of an 8pm BST kick-off time - 9pm local time - in Slovakia.
Live stream: You can also watch the game for free live online via the Channel 4 website.
