Lee Carsley promised to entertain. And his young lions did. Defending their title by attacking. Deserved 3-1 win. Full of belief, fluidity and boldness. Livramento especially, Anderson, Hutchinson all superb. Czechia hard-working, organised, threatened occasionally but tbf nothing special. Harder opposition lies in wait (Spain etc), but strong start, three points, smart subs.
Six other issues raised by the game….

1.Tactically. Carsley denied his best midfielder, Wharton (concussed), a good midfielder in Jobe B and his best forward in Delap (both Club World Cupped). Didn’t complain or panic. Opted for a 4-2-2-2 formation which proved v effective, far more than seniors against Senegal. XI: Beadle; Gray, Cresswell, Quansah, Livramento; Scott, Anderson; Elliott, Hutchinson; McAtee, Rowe. Worked well particularly first 50 mins, especially down left, Livramento and Hutchinson linking well. Adventurous all over, Quansah long dribble, Gray stepped into midfield.

2.Points to prove. Elliott naturally wants to play more at #LFC. Showed what he can do. Took his chance and his goal well here, low finish from McAtee lay-off (39).

http://3.Viva Livramento. Only Anderson came close as man of the match. Livramento deservedly awarded Player of the Match by Uefa. Superb in/out of possession.
Has this very effective trick, stop-start, drops shoulder, accelerates outside r-b, and crosses left footed. Led to both goals, Elliott then Rowe (49).

4.Resilience. Anderson booked after 17 seconds, but stuck to his task, didn’t dive in, v mature performance. England briefly lost shape early second half. Conceded (Fila, 51). Carsley and Cole gestured to keep it more compact. Carsley urged players to keep calm. They responded. Cresswell caught out twice, but recovered, vocal presence, and scored, towering header from Scott corner (75).

5.Carsley’s attacking subs paid off. Stansfield for Rowe, Nwaneri for McAtee (69). Set Czechia another challenge, pressing hard. Nwaneri, so rapid, didn’t take long to show his talent, nutmegged Suchomel, accelerated away, shot just wide. Iling-Junior for Hutchinson (78). Then new midfield, Morton and Hackney for Scott and Anderson (84). Carsley controlled the game.

6.Terrific atmosphere. Uefa DJ insisted on pumping up sound with a NoiseMeter. Not needed. Best sound emerges organically, unpromoted. Czechia fans created huge racket. Scattering of England fans, Leeds, Sheffield Wednesday, West Ham, Sunderland, Maidenhead United. Well-rewarded by a good England performance and win. f-t 3-1 #ENG #CZEENG #U21EURO

No surprise that Tino Livramento involved in England’s goal. Best player on the park. Got down left again, took Hutchinson’s pass, cross palmed to McAtee back to Elliott 1-0 (h-t). Livramento constantly involved first half, athletic, anticipates, defends well, bombs forward, passing or cutting in.

Versatile right-back shining at left-back - as he did ably for Eddie Howe #NUFC last season. 8 different players filled #ENG seniors l-b position in past year: Lewis-Skelly, James, Hall, Lewis, Trent, Colwill, Shaw, Trippier. Livramento been on bench 7 times for seniors, came on once, at right-back. His quality and versatility surely an attraction for Tuchel at World Cup. #U21EURO #CZEENG