U21 Euro Championship: England to wind up winless

11Jun 2013

Betfair

It may be all over for England but there's still plenty of excitement to come in this summer's U21 Euro Championship...

Israel U21 v England U21, Tuesday 17:00, Sky Sports 2, Match Odds: Israel U21 5.3, England U21 1.81, The Draw 3.8

Hope all too quickly turned to despair for Stuart Pearce's Young Lions as they were dumped out of this year's tournament following defeats to Italy and most recently Norway.

While the inevitable media post-mortem continues to search for answers as to why England capitulated after such a commanding qualification process, the players must somehow pick themselves up for this dead rubber against hosts Israel. Barring a six-goal swing, the Israelis are also out, but they won't give up hope against this forlorn English side, despite getting thumped for four by Italy.

A telling factor in that heavy defeat was the loss of their playmaker Eyal Golasa to a red card after just 37 minutes and his omission from the squad to face England should aid the Lions chances.

However, winning a game is something England failed to do in the last tournament in 2011 after being touted as the team to qualify alongside group favourites Spain - the comparisons are now painfully obvious. Neither of these sides have kept a clean sheet, so there should at least be few goals to entertain.

Best Bet: Back the draw 3.8
Other Recommended Bet: Back both teams to score @ 1.81

Norway U21 v Italy U21, Tuesday 17:00, Sky Sports Interactive, Match Odds: Norway U21 4.2, Italy U21 2.02, The Draw 3.4

Italy stamped their authority on Group A with that emphatic 4-0 win over hosts Israel and now require just a point to confirm their group winner status.

Meanwhile, Norway's equally impressive 3-1 triumph over England means that the Scandinavians only need a point themselves to be assured Group A's runner-up spot. Far be it to suggest that the teams will play out a draw on purpose but with both teams eyeing up the semi-finals, a slightly more leisurely pace may be applied to this game.

Due to the ankle injury sustained to Lorenzo Insigne against Israel, the continued presence up top of Bologna forward Manolo Gabbiadini - who scored twice against Israel - appears almost certain.

Recommended Bet
Back Manolo Gabbiadini to score @ 3.2