Internationals - Skippy's England top group, Udogie's Italy off the mark
Mon 26 June 2023, 06:00|
Tottenham Hotspur
It was a bright night for both of our youngsters at the UEFA Under-21 European Championships as both Oliver Skipp and Destiny Udogie's sides picked up big wins on Sunday.
Firstly, Oliver's England built on their strong start to their Group C campaign as, having defeated the Czech Republic 2-0 in their first outing on Thursday, they followed that up with another 2-0 win as they took on Israel in Georgia.
Newcastle United's Anthony Gordon and Arsenal's Emile Smith Rowe grabbed the goals for the Young Lions either side of the break.
Oliver started the game amongst the substitutes but was brought on for the final 20 minutes in place of Lille's Angel Gomes.
Holding a 100 per cent record so far with one group game still to play, the win was enough to secure Lee Carsley's side top spot in Group C with them also holding a better head-to-head record against the only side who could match them points wise - second-placed Czech Republic.
Destiny's Italy, meanwhile, moved up to second in their group with an enthralling 3-2 win over Switzerland in Cluj, Romania.
Having suffered a narrow 2-1 defeat in their opening Group D match with France on Thursday, the Italians were determined to make a strong start to their clash with the Swiss - and they certainly did that!
While Destiny remained an unused substitute for the match, after just 11 minutes at the Cluj Arena, Gli Azzurrini were two to the good with Internazionale's Lorenzo Pirola and Leeds United's Wilfried Gnonto both on target. It was then 3-0 before half-time with Fabiano Parisi of Empoli also finding the back of the net.
However, despite that dominant first 45 minutes from the Italians, they ultimately endured a nervy and tense ending to the match with the Swiss striking back twice within seven minutes of the restart through Young Boys' Kastriot Imeri and Lausanne-Sports' Zeki Amdouni.
Yet, the Italians held on to take all three points to leapfrog the Swiss in the standings. To secure a place in the knockout stages, Italy need to better Switzerland's result in their final group outing against bottom side Norway on Wednesday (kick-off 7.45pm UK).
