2019 UEFA European Under-21 Championship – England vs France Preview & Prediction
THE FACTS
When is England vs France taking place? Tuesday 18th June 2019 – 20:00 (UK)
Where is England vs France taking place? Orogel Stadium-Dino Manuzzi, Cesena
What television channel is England vs France on? Sky Sports Football
Where can I stream England vs France? Sky Sports subscribers can stream the match online via Sky Go
Where can I get tickets for England vs France? https://www.uefa.com/under21/news/newsid=2597855.html
THE TEAM NEWS
ENGLAND
- England head into the 2019 UEFA European Under-21 Championships with a fair bit of pressure on their shoulders as they enter as pre-tournament favourites and must not let that tag affect them.
- They failed to win either of their last two matches when losing to Germany in March before Poland held them to a 1-1 draw but were unbeaten in their qualifying campaign having won eight of their ten matches whilst they drew the other two matches.
- This is England’s seventh successive appearance in the finals and their favouritism is partly formed because of the strength of the squad they have named with Manchester City’s Phil Foden and the likes of James Maddison, Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Dominic Solanke included.
FRANCE
- France have ended a long exodus from the European Under-21 Championships after they qualified for the finals for the first time since 2006 when they made it to the semi-finals of that tournament.
- They come into this competition on the back of a disappointing 3-1 loss to Austria in their final warm-up game but they secured the highest number of points in qualifying to highlight their credentials.
- The French have been struck by some bad news with captain Abdou Diallo ruled out through injury whilst Martin Terrier is also out with illness which has opened the door for Marcus Thuram to come into the squad alongside the likes of Moussa Dembele and Houssem Aouar.
THE PREDICTION
Pre-tournament favourites England face a difficult opening contest against France with both teams capable of going all the way in this year’s European Under-21 Championships. Neither side will want to begin with a loss as that could be devastating in this format. Only one side is guaranteed to progress and with so much on the line, this should be a tight game with two very talented teams set to produce a high-quality contest that could end in a draw.
