England U21 vs Croatia U21 LIVE: Stream, TV channel, kick off time, team news with Smith Rowe NOT in squad

CROATIA U21 0-0 ENGLAND U21

5. Croatia still dominating possession in these early stages but yet to create anything.

England yet to really get going but looking fair solid defensively.

CROATIA U21 0-0 ENGLAND U21

2. Good start from the Croats, they’re pushing England back in these early stages.

England not looking unduly troubled defensively yet.

PEEEEEEEEP!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And the first half is underway!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

IN THE TUNNEL

Players are in the tunnel!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

FIVE MINUTES

We’re just 5 minutes from kick-off!!!!!!!!!!

TEN MINUTES

We’re just 10 minutes from kick-off!!!!!!!!!!!!

THE STAGE IS SET

KEY STATS

Croatia’s win against Switzerland on MD2 was their first in the group stage at the U21 EURO finals. Their record is now. (W1 D3 L7)

Croatia have conceded at least one goal in ten of their previous 11 group stage matches at the U21 EURO finals.

England have won only three of their last 18 group games at the U21 finals (W3 D5 L10) and they are without a win in the last five. (D1 L4)

England have conceded two goals or more in four of their last five U21 EURO final tournament group stage matches.

COULD NKETIAH BE THE DIFFERENCE?

THE U21s POOR FORM AT THE EUROS

THE CROATS HAVE ARRIVED!

CONOR GALLAGHER ON BOOTHROYD

“Aidy has been brilliant, he is keeping us positive and keeping us believing even when it is hard to.

“When our heads have dropped he and the staff have all been there. Hopefully, we can win for us and for them as well.”

BOOTHROYD ON THE ROLE OF THE U21S

“The only team that needs to win is the senior team. Everywhere else, winning is part of it, drawing is part of it and having adversity is part of it.

“The reason I say that it is the utterly impossible job is because new players come in, younger players come in and the wheel starts again.

“My job isn’t to say to Gareth we should have Jude, Phil or Mason, it is about the senior team and it always will be.

“If someone is doing this job and hiding players and not allowing them to go forward then the system is flawed. I don’t want to be the whinge bag to defend myself. They are facts but they are what the job is.”

BOOTHROYD ON THE U21 JOB

“I know the senior men’s job has been called the impossible job but the Under-21s is the utterly impossible job. The reason is the amount of players who have to be produced for the senior team and we are expected to win.

“There’s a reason why we haven’t won this for 37 years and why we haven’t progressed as much as we thought we would, because our primary aim is to get players through to Gareth” (Southgate).

BISCAN ON ENGLAND U21s

“We will not change the concept, we will be patient and we will not leave space for the English, who are excellent one-on-one.

“Our collective defence will have to quell their individual quality. It will be a competitive match. We will keep and eye and ear on the other match and react accordingly.”

NKETIAH ON PRESSURE ON THE BOSS

 “That’s on all of us, you know. We’re all to blame for that. We all had sloppy moments in the game and it’s just about cutting that out and playing to the best of our ability.

“We know we have the quality and we have shown in qualifying that we can score goals, so it’s about producing that here and – like I said – taking that bit of extra care and detail with the final pass.”

NKETIAH ON ENGLAND

“Against Switzerland, we had a lot more of the ball and probably just lacked that penetration, but in the Portugal game, I think, in the transitional moments, the final pass we failed to take full advantage of.

“It’s been a disappointing first two games. We all know that. It’s just about keeping our heads up and challenging ourselves to finish strongly in the Croatia game.”

CROATIA U21 BENCH

1. Semper, 4. Colina, 5. Erlic, 6. Nejasmic, 9. Kulenovic, 10. Majer, 13. Zaper, 15. Krizmanic, 18. Divkovic, 19. Vuk, 20. Musa, 23. Nevistic

CROATIA U21 STARTING XI

Looks like Igor Biscan has opted for a 4-2-3-1 this afternoon:

12. Kostarski, 2. Sverko 22. Vuskovic, 16. Franjic, 11. Branaric, 8. Moro, 3. Babec, 7. Ivanusec, 21. Spikic, 17. Bistrovic, 14. Vizinger

PREVIOUS MEETINGS CONTINUED

England won the two previous competitive matches between the sides 2-1, those games coming in the play-offs for the 2015 final tournament.

Harry Kane was on target in the first in Wolverhampton as the home side came from behind to win on 10 October 2014; four days later, Will Hughes got England’s winner in Vinkovci, Croatia bowing out despite Marko Livaja finding the net in each game.

Croatia have won both friendlies between the sides, 3-0 in London in August 2003 – Goran Ljubojević scoring twice – and 1-0 in April 1996.

Rhian Brewster scored a hat-trick in England’s 5-0 win against Croatia in an Under-17 friendly at the Stadion Aldo Drosina in Pula on 28 September 2016. Callum Hudson-Odoi was a second-half substitute for Aidy Boothroyd’s side, while Bartol Franjić featured for Croatia.

Moro’s goal was not enough to prevent Croatia suffering a 2-1 group stage defeat against England at the 2016 European U19 Championship group stage; Ivanušec was also on the losing side.

PREVIOUS MEETINGS

The teams also met in the third round of group games in Italy two years ago, when both had already been eliminated having lost their first two Group C matches.

Croatia came from behind three times to earn a share of the spoils, goals from Josip Brekalo (39, 82) and Nikola Vlašić (62) cancelling out strikes by Reiss Nelson (11 pen), James Maddison (48) and Jonjo Kenny (70).

Moro, Lovro Majer and Kulenović all started for Croatia with Luka Ivanušec a second-half substitute and Kristijan Bistrović and Adrian Šemper unused replacements. Lloyd Kelly played the 90 minutes for England.

That meant England finished third in the section, above Croatia on goal difference.

LINKS AND TRIVIA

Croatia coach Bišćan, who replaced Nenad Gračan on 1 October 2019, played for Liverpool from 2000 to 2005, scoring three goals in 117 appearances in all competitions.

He was part of the side that won the FA Cup and English League Cup in 2000/01, the UEFA Super Cup the same year and, in 2004/05, the UEFA Champions League, making nine appearances in the latter campaign.

CROATIA U21 FORM GUIDE

All three of Croatia’s U21 EURO final appearances have ended in the group stage. In 2019, they finished bottom of Group C behind Romania, France (both seven points) and England (1). Nenad Gračan’s side lost to Romania (1-4) and France (0-1) before that 3-3 draw against England.

That 2019 appearance ended Croatia’s 15-year wait to feature in the final tournament; the previous appearance had come in 2004 when, as on their 2000 debut, they finished bottom of their section having failed to win a game, drawing one and losing two on each occasion.

Croatia’s record in the finals group stage is now W1 D3 L7 F14 A22. In qualifying for the 2021 tournament, Igor Bišćan’s side finished second in Group 4 a point behind the Czech Republic, taking 20 points from their ten games (W6 D2 L2).

Croatia were unbeaten in their last six qualifiers (W4 D2), a 10-0 defeat of San Marino in Zagreb on 8 October 2020 the team’s biggest ever victory.

GROUP D TABLE

ENGLAND FORM GUIDE CONTINUED

Champions in 1982 and 1984, England also reached the semi-finals in 1978, 1980, 1986 and 1988.

England have won only three of their last 18 group games at the finals (D5 L10) and none of the last five (D1 L4).

In qualifying for these finals Boothroyd – who has been in charge since 2016 – oversaw an unbeaten campaign, England winning nine of their ten fixtures to finish on 28 points, ten clear of Austria at the top of Group 3.

England have reached each of the last four U21 final tournaments without losing a game. Their last qualifying defeat was a 2-1 loss in Belgium on 14 November 2011; their subsequent record is W37 D6.

Eddie Nketiah was the top scorer in qualifying overall with 13 goals. He is England’s all-time U21 top scorer on 16.