Tottenham duo experience contrasting fates at European Under-21 Championship
It was delight for Tottenham midfielder Oliver Skipp and England, while Destiny Udogie and Italy were left heartbroken.
The final group games of the European Under-21 Championship took place on Wednesday 28 June and saw England cruise to a perfect 100 per cent record in Group C, but Italy faced an early exit from the tournament after finishing third in Group D.
Incoming Spurs arrival Udogie was an unused substitute as he watched his Italian team-mates fall to a 1-0 defeat at the hands of Norway, who finished last in Group D despite the victory.
Italy had to at least better Switzerland’s result against France to have any hope of qualification. The Swiss’ 4-1 defeat to the French, who finished top of the group, left themselves, Italy and Norway all on three points.
In this scenario, the tiebreaker is decided by the head-to-head goal difference between the three sides in question, which Switzerland edged. It is a cruel exit for the Italy, who had a better overall goal difference in the group than the Swiss.
For Skipp, who made his first start of the tournament, and the Young Lions, it was a different story. They recorded their third straight 2-0 win in the group stages meaning they finished top with a perfect record and without conceding a goal.
Lee Carsley’s side were already guaranteed top spot and could have easily fallen to defeat at the hands of a German side that needed victory to have any hope of qualifying. However, the professional performance in Georgia saw England finish the group stages with a win and in the process knock their rivals out of the tournament.
Cameron Archer put England ahead inside four minutes before Harvey Elliot of Liverpool made it 2-0 after 17 minutes. Skipp featured for the full 90 and had a solid evening, putting on a passing masterclass.
Out of his 49 attempted passes, 48 were accurate which gave him a passing accuracy of 98 per cent. The midfielder also made one clearance and two interceptions as he was part of an impeccable defensive display that saw England make it three clean sheets out of three, (SofaScore).
Group-A runners-up Portugal now await England in the quarter-finals, which are set to take place Sunday 2nd July with a 5 pm kick-off time.
In other Tottenham news, incredible footage from an Under-16 club training session has emerged.