England Under-21s two games from Euros glory but injury worry mars Portugal win

02 July 2023 , 17:54

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Anthony Gordon broke Portugal's resistance in the first half (Image: Alex Caparros - UEFA/UEFA via Getty Images)

England's under-21s kept up their perfect record to book their place in the semi-finals of the European Championships with victory over Portugal.

Lee Carsley's Young Lions won all three group games without conceding a goal, while Portugal needed a late penalty against Belgium to reach the knockout stages. The first 45 minutes all went England's way, with Anthony Gordon rounding off a team move to open the scoring, but things were tougher after the break.

Henrique Araujo had Portugal's best chance, heading against the bar with England keeper James Trafford beaten. Ultimately, though, Carsley's players held their nerve to set up a meeting with Israel.

There is, however, an injury worry for England. Jacob Ramsey has impressed throughout the tournament, but the Aston Villa starlet appeared to be in pain as was forced off midway through the second half.

Ramsey has been one of England's key men in the tournament, so they will hope the injury is nothing too serious. He scored the Young Lions' first goal of the tournament against the Czech Republic, and also came close to laying on a tap-in for Morgan Gibbs-White in the Portugal game.

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After England attacked at will in the first period, Rui Jorge's side came back into the tie after the half-time break. 21-year-old forward Araujo, who ended last season on loan in England with Watford, caused problems for England centre-backs Levi Colwill and Taylor Harwood-Bellis as Portugal looked for a way back in.

Pedro Neto and Francisco Conceicao also threatened down the wings, and Portugal out-shot England by a comfortable distance as they chased an equaliser. England held out through six added minutes, though, to keep their hopes alive.

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England lost Jacob Ramsey to injury (Alex Caparros - UEFA/UEFA via Getty Images)

Next up for England is Israel, who lost to Carsley's side in the group stage. On that occasion, goals from Gordon and Emile Smith Rowe made the difference.

Israel's quarter-final tie against hosts Georgia went all the way on Saturday. After a goalless 120 minutes, Guy Luzon's team won 4-3 on penalties to break Georgian hearts and follow up the country's run to the semi-finals of the Under-20 World Cup.

For England, it's a first semi-final appearance in this tournament since 2017, when they suffered a penalty shoot-out defeat against Germany. In each of the last two editions, they didn't make it out of their group.

The other semi-final will involve Spain, who claimed an extra-time victory over Switzerland thanks to Juan Miranda's winner. They will face either France and Ukraine, who go head to head in the last of the quarter-finals.

Tom Victor