Under 21s Start With a 2-1 Win Over Finland

England Under 21s got off to a great start at the Under-21 Euros by beating Finland 2-1 with ten men. Nine and a half minutes of highlights above, but worth a watch if you have time.

Stuart Pearce started with this lineup:

Joe Hart; Martin Cranie, Kieran Gibbs, Michael Mancienne, Micah Richards; Lee Cattermole, James Milner, Fabrice Muamba, Mark Noble(c); Theo Walcott, Gabriel Agbonlahor

Cattermole gave us the lead after just fifteen minutes, getting the ball over the line after a nice Agbonlahor burst and cut back.

Michael Mancienne rugby tackled a Finnish striker on the half hour mark, getting himself sent off and allowing Tim Sparv to equalize from the penalty spot.

But the Stuart Pearce made a ballsy move at half-time, subbing off the ineffectual Walcott for Frazier Campbell and going two up front, three in midfield and four at the back. He was rewarded when Micah Richards headed home a James Milner cross in the 53rd, and England held on until full time.

Nice quote from Pearce about his half-time decision:

“You have to go with your gut feeling as a manger. It’s bittersweet at half-time because it’s 1-1 and we’re down to 10 men. If I put two strikers on and we lost people would have said ‘What are you doing?’

“They are a good set of players and know if we want to pick up the trophy then everyone at times has to fall on their sword and support the other players. That is exactly what Theo does. That is the gentleman he is.” “I wanted to win the match. It was a bold call. It may have been easier going 4-4-1 but I thought we could trouble them with (Gabriel) Agbonlahor and [Fraizer] Campbell, but I needed a solid three behind them. For me to achieve the formation I wanted Theo had to come off the pitch.”

Spain and Germany drew 0-0 earlier in the day, so the group table now looks like this:

Our next game is vs Spain on Thursday, but bad news is that Mancienne will be suspended while Micah Richards is doubtful after getting injured towards the end of today’s win.