Liverpool's Elliott drives in opener in first half; Rowe forces a second after break before Fila hits back; Cresswell heads third
Lee Carsley's England looking to defend title in Slovakia
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England
So, holders England are up and running at the European Under-21 Championship.
Of course there is room for improvement, but this was a decent start by Lee Carsley's side.
Thanks for your company. We'll be back on Sunday to bring you live text coverage of their second group game against Slovenia (17:00 BST kick-off).
Until then...
Image source, Getty Images
Image source, Getty Images
Image source, Getty ImagesFT: Czech Republic 1-3 England
Stephen Warnock
Former England defender on BBC Radio 5 Live
England will be very pleased. Sometimes you need a difficult game to get you under way, to feel the challenges and know where you need to improve.
Yes they had a lot of problems before the tournament but Lee Carsley has dealt with it exceptionally well. The most important thing tonight was the victory and getting three points.
FT: Czech Republic 1-3 England
England don't have long to prepare for their next game.
They face Slovenia in Nitra on Sunday at 17:00 BST.
By the way, Slovenia lost 3-0 to in the other game in Group B tonight.
FT: Czech Republic 1-3 England
England
Image source, Getty ImagesTino Livramento takes a selfie with the player of the match award.
I don't think anyone is going to argue with that decision.
Livramento showed his Premier League quality along with the likes of Harvey Elliott and James McAtee, while Arsenal's 18-year-old talent Ethan Nwaneri added a different dimension when he came on.
FT: Czech Republic 1-3 England
John Murray
BBC Radio 5 Live chief football correspondent
The Czech Republic have been more awkward than what I was expecting.
They came through a play-off against Belgium to get here. It was tight and it was close.
England will be satisfied with this.
FT: Czech Republic 1-3 England
England
A night Jonathan Rowe will not forget for a long time.
In 2013 he was a mascot, at the age of 10, for England's 2-1 friendly win over Brazil at Wembley.
Tonight, the Marseille forward scored for his country at the European Under-21 Championship.
Image source, Getty ImagesFT: Czech Republic 1-3 England
Stephen Warnock
Former England defender on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra
You are never going to go through a tournament perfectly, are you? There are going to be bumps on the road and lessons to learn. There are plenty of lessons for England to take from tonight.
The squad will know that themselves. They will know that there are things to improve on, they know teams are going to get better as the competition goes on, but they are going to get better too.
Czech Republic 1-3 England
England are up and running at the European Under-21 Championship after a strong performance that says: "We mean business".
Image source, Getty ImagesCzech Republic 1-3 England
Into the closing moments. An excellent start to the tournament for Lee Carsley's side.
Czech Republic 1-3 England
This has been a thoroughly professional performance by the Young Lions. And it's come at the end of a miserable week for the Three Lions.
Czech Republic 1-3 England
Moments before the fourth official indicated a minimum of five minutes, Adam Karabec tested James Beadle.
It was all fairly routine for the Brighton goalkeeper.
Czech Republic 1-3 England
A minimum of five additional minutes.
England still have work to do!
Czech Republic 1-3 England
How much added time will there be?
The Czech Republic are desperately trying to find a way back into this but their latest attack ends with a headed clearance by Jarell Quansah.
Czech Republic 1-3 England
Stephen Warnock
Former England defender on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra
The job should be done. You can tell with the changes that Lee Carsley might think that himself, they are shutting up shop and focusing on retaining possession now.
Czech Republic 1-3 England
It's all about game-management for England now.
This feels over as a contest, Charlie Cresswell's goal has knocked the stuffing out of the Czech Republic.
Czech Republic 1-3 England
More changes for the Young Lions.
Liverpool's Tyler Morton and Middlesbrough's Hayden Hackney are on for Elliot Anderson and Alex Scott.
Czech Republic 1-3 England
A reminder that Harvey Elliott and Charlie Cresswell were both part of the 2023 team that won the European Under-21 Championship.
Both have scored tonight.
England's experience has shone through.
Image source, Getty ImagesCzech Republic 1-3 England
This is a strong statement by the defending champions.
England have been hard-working, intelligent and have scored at crucial times.
They've been a little sloppy in areas but this has been decent.
They mean business.
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Very decent performance from Livramento and it shouldn’t be forgotten he’s playing on the wrong side.
Dean, Newcastle
Czech Republic 1-3 England
Stephen Warnock
Former England defender on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra
Cresswell is simply too strong and he just out muscles the defender Chaloupek. He nods it down, makes it difficult for the goalkeeper to get anything on it, in the end he's nowhere near it. Really good delivery from Scott and really good header.
Image source, Reuters
Jonathan Rowe celebrates with team-mates after scoring England's second goal
Harvey Elliott set England Under-21s on the way to a successful start as the holders began their European Championship title defence with victory against the Czech Republic.
Head coach Lee Carsley had to deal with a number of squad withdrawals in the build-up to the tournament in Slovakia but still named an attacking side for the Young Lions' opening match.
England took the lead in the 39th minute when Tino Livramento, who was a constant threat from left-back, had a cross deflected into the area and the ball fell to captain James McAtee who teed up Liverpool's Elliott to drill a low shot into the net.
Livramento was involved again for England's second goal when he beat his man with an excellent piece of skill, and his low cross into the box got a slight touch from Jonathan Rowe which beat Czech goalkeeper Lukas Hornicek.
The Czech Republic pulled one back just three minutes later when Daniel Fila headed in Vaclav Sejk's chipped cross.
England made sure of the win when Charlie Cresswell headed in Alex Scott's curling corner after 76 minutes.
Before this tournament, Carsley challenged his current team to be better than the group he coached to the Euros trophy two years ago in Georgia.
That team won all six matches and did not concede a goal on their way to glory, so it is a high bar. However, in a creative 4-2-2-2 formation, there were signs that this team could go deep into this tournament.
Nottingham Forest's Elliot Anderson and Bournemouth's Scott were a solid base in midfield, while the system Carsley chose allowed him to fit in four attacking players that could interchange.
Having Livramento and Archie Gray playing at full-back meant that Carsley had players who were comfortable when receiving the ball in tight areas in most positions on the pitch.
Ethan Nwaneri was introduced as a second-half substitute, looking sharp during his 20 minutes on the pitch, and the 18-year-old Arsenal winger could be a big asset as the tournament progresses.
Livramento was England's standout player as they began their mission in the town of Dunajska Streda.
The Newcastle full-back did a good job of threatening by going on the outside of defenders to cross the ball while also still cutting inside to start attacks.
Anderson was also impressive in midfield and did well to manage his game after picking up a yellow card in the opening 20 seconds. But all England players gave a good of themselves.
After the opportunity to rate players has closed, the score displayed represents the average from all the submissions by BBC Sport s.
England dominated the ball in this game and had 68.4% of possession - also having more touches in the box than their opponents.
The Czech Republic had 12 touches in England's penalty area compared to the 33 the Young Lions had in theirs.
England are next in action against Slovenia on Sunday in the second round of matches in Group B, while the Czech Republic take on on the same day.
| Team | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | Goals For | Goals Against | Goal Difference | Points | Form, Last 6 games, Oldest first |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 Spain U21 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 3 |
|
2 Italy U21 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
|
3 Slovakia U21 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | -1 | 0 |
|
4 Romania U21 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | -1 | 0 |
|
| Team | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | Goals For | Goals Against | Goal Difference | Points | Form, Last 6 games, Oldest first |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 U21 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 3 |
|
2 England U21 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
|
3 Czech Republic U21 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | -2 | 0 |
|
4 Slovenia U21 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | -3 | 0 |
|
| Team | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | Goals For | Goals Against | Goal Difference | Points | Form, Last 6 games, Oldest first |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 Georgia U21 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
|
2 U21 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
|
3 Portugal U21 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
|
4 Poland U21 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | -1 | 0 |
|
| Team | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | Goals For | Goals Against | Goal Difference | Points | Form, Last 6 games, Oldest first |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 Denmark U21 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 3 |
|
2 Netherlands U21 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 |
|
3 Finland U21 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 |
|
4 Ukraine U21 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | -1 | 0 |
|
Manager: Jan Suchopárek
Formation: 3 - 4 - 1 - 2
Manager: Lee Carsley
Formation: 4 - 2 - 3 - 1
Manager: Jan Suchopárek
Formation: 3 - 4 - 1 - 2
Manager: Lee Carsley
Formation: 4 - 2 - 3 - 1
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