England U21 1 Italy U21 3. Twelve months ago England exited the World Cup with barely a whimper, and last night in the Androv Stadium in the Czech Republic, the Under-21s tumbled out of the European Championships with a performance every bit as limp as that of their elders.
It was a dreadful display from Gareth Southgate's side and questions will now be asked about his position as coach after a tournament that has featured two defeats and two goals in three games.
It had all looked so rosy during England's qualifying campaign – now where have we heard that before? – with the Young Lions scoring 31 goals in ten matches. But a 1-0 defeat to Portugal was followed by a very scratchy 1-0 win over Sweden before England were put out of their misery in emphatic style by Italy.
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Poor Italy. Despite their victory they are also out of the Championships after Sweden scored an 88th minute equaliser against Portugal to secure the point they needed to follow the Portuguese into the quarter-final. At least they left with their heads held high, which England failed to do despite Southgate's stirring pre-match address to the press. "We have to prove ourselves in the next 90 minutes," he had declared. "Now there is an opportunity for them to make a statement and give a very good performance."
Some statement. They struggled to even complete a pass on an evening when the technical limitations of English footballers were exposed yet again. The dire display also proved the validity of Harry Rednapp's stinging attack on the U21 squad earlier in the day. The former Tottenham and QPR manager accused England's young players of lacking a strong work ethic, saying: "They're first off the training pitch. They should be out there. Even if they're only doing simple passing or shooting or dribbling. But they don't do it. They walk off, thinking, 'I've got a three- or four-year contract, I've made it'."
For once Harry hit the nail on the head. The likes of Harry Kane, the Tottenham striker recently valued at around £50m, has been anonymous in this tournament yet is talked of in some breathless Premier League circles as being a world-class talent. The truth is Kane can look good in the hurly-burly of the Premier League, where defensive solidity is an optional extra, but on an international stage his deficiencies are there for all to see. Like countless English players before him.
"It was a sad, sorry, state of affairs for England," mused Mark Lawrenson on BBC Radio Five. "They were well beaten." His fellow BBC pundit, Alan Shearer, tweeted: "If that is progress, I'm even more worried than I was."
Andrea Belotti and Marco Benassi gave Italy a two goal cushion midway through the first half with two strikes in quick succession, and Benassi's downward header made it 3-0 on 72 minutes. Nathan Redmond's 20-yard effort deep into stoppage time couldn't even be called a consolation. England's small band of supporters were long past consoling. They were in need of counselling, and a stiff drink.
