Czech Republic 2-0 England
James Tomkins and Freddie Sears put in gutsy performances but were unable to stop England going down 2-0 to the Czech Republic in the European Under-19's Championship.
The first half of the opening game of the tournament saw England defending strongly against a Czech side who grew in confidence as the match went on in Liberec. Tomkins did well to lead the line at the back for Brian Eastick's Young Lions while Sears was always a menace up front. However, the host nation ultimately proved too strong and second-half goals from Tomas Necid did the damage.
Sears looked lively after just four minutes when he chased a through-ball from Daniel Rose of Tottenham Hotspur, but saw his route to goal blocked by good defensive play from the Czechs. At the other end, his club-mate Tomkins was making sure the hosts were not getting near goal, as he headed clear the danger posed by a good move from the Czechs.
Daniel Sturridge tried his luck from outside the box and Chelsea's Scott Sinclair was making good runs down the wing, before Sears moved quickly to latch on to another ball, but was again blocked. A Tomkins header clear resulted in a corner for the host nation after the quarter-hour mark and England continued their organised stance at the back, thwarting a number of Czech attacks.
On the half-hour mark, England goalkeeper David Button - who plays his club football at Tottenham Hotspur, made an outstanding one-handed save to prevent the Czech Republic taking the lead. Roman Brunclik was then booked for a late tackle on Sears - who minutes later sent a precise pass which Chelsea's Ryan Bertrand collected but he was not able to get enough on the final ball.
Both teams ended the first half strongly, with England just shading it with a well organised display. The second half saw a similar start to the first, with England dominating. Yet it was the Czechs who took the lead on 53 minutes, with a rare mistake from goalkeeper Button. He came out to block a ball, saw it bounce awkwardly in front of him and the young keeper was powerless to prevent Necid getting past him to score.
England rallied immediately and raced straight up the other end, with Sturridge and Sinclair trying to find a way through. It was more woe for the Young Lions on 57 minutes though, as the Czechs made it 2-0. Necid got on the end of a strong corner kick and headed past Button for his second of the day.
While the two goals knocked England for a while, they soon recovered and looked for a way back into the match. Tomkins intercepted another Czech attack by calmly heading back to his keeper, before stepping up to clear from another good move by the hosts. The young West Ham United defender also went forward when he could to add his support from attacking corners.
On 72 minutes, the Czechs went down to ten men when Jakub Heidenreich's challenge on Rose earned him an early bath. England then went close with the resulting free-kick, which saw Sturridge's shot go over the wall but straight into the Czech keeper's hands. Sears then turned well in the box making good space for himself, but saw his final ball blocked. The West Ham United forward followed that with a great run and rounded the keeper, but was not able to keep the ball in play.
The Czechs were further depleted in numbers, going down to nine men, when Brunclik kicked the ball away in anger and was given his second yellow card. Chelsea's Jack Cork had a chance on 84 minutes, but the keeper managed to hold him off to save. It was the final action of any note and England will have to hope for better against Italy on Thursday.
England: David Button, Jack Cork (c), Danny Gosling (Jamie Chandler, 78) James Tomkins, Krystian Pearce, Scott Sinclair (Tope Obadeyi, 64) Kieran Gibbs, Daniel Sturridge, Freddie Sears, Danny Rose, Ryan Bertrand.
Subs not used: Jason Steele, Victor Moses, Fabian Delph, Ben Mee.