View: Tottenham starlets Oliver Skipp and Destiny Udogie make contrasting U21 Euro starts
Oliver Skipp and Destiny Udogie both got their Under-21 European Championship campaigns underway on Thursday 22 June.
Skipp is representing England while Udogie pulls on an Italian shirt with both players hoping to go far with their respective nations at the Under-21 Euros taking place in Georgia and Romania.
England and Skipp are in Group C with Israel, the Czech Republic and Germany. After their opening 2-0 win over the Czech Republic, they sit top of the group with Germany and Israel having played out a 1-1 draw.
Tottenham midfielder Skipp started on the bench on Thursday night before being brought on in the 79th minute with the Young Lions 1-0 up following Jacob Ramsey’s second-half opener. The game was wrapped up in the dying moments via Emile Smith-Rowe.
Skipp had an impact in his short time on the pitch, making 10 touches and playing eight accurate passes out of the nine he attempted, giving him a passing accuracy of 89 per cent (SofaScore). He also won the one-ground duel he attempted.
England are next in action this Sunday 25 June as they take on Israel, and Skipp will be hoping to start from the beginning this time out.
Meanwhile, Destiny was part of an Italian side that got off to a tricky start, losing 2-1 to France in Group D which leaves them bottom after Switzerland beat Norway 2-1 in the group’s other game.
Destiny started the match and played 88 minutes of the Italian’s defeat to France. In the 62nd minute, he was robbed by Bradley Barcola in the area, who then struck home to put France 2-1 ahead after Pietro Pellegri had headed in a 36th-minute equaliser following Arnaud Kalimuendo’s backheel on 22 minutes putting the French ahead.
It was a night to forget for Destiny who will look to bounce back after his poor start to the tournament. He was awarded a 5.9 rating, the second-lowest on the evening (SofaScore). He made 41 touches and had a 76 per cent passing accuracy while winning 50 per cent of his ground duels. He made one successful dribble, one interception and two tackles.
The 20-year-old will be hoping to put things right in Italy’s next game against group leaders Switzerland on Sunday 25 June.
In other Tottenham news, the club have their eye on another young player.