Group C Heavyweights England and France Clash at U21 Euro Championships

When most American soccer fans hear of U21 competitions they get an image of junior high school kids kicking a ball around a pitch on a Saturday morning. The reality, however, is that high level U21 competition in no way resembles Little League baseball. The U21 European Championship is underway in Italy with the final set for June 30 at the home of Serie A club Udinese. The majority of teams in this competition have players on the roster that have already started to make a name for themselves in European league competition. The NBA has an event during their annual All Star Weekend called the ‘Rising Stars Challenge’ that consists of the top first and second year players in the league. That might have more in common with a high level U21 competition such as this one than any other event.

There are two Group C contests set for Tuesday with Romania and Croatia playing in the early contest. The clear main event of the day might be the best matchup of the entire group stage of the competition. England and France are co-favorites to win their group and among the top choices to win the entire competition. Spain and Italy are also in the mix to claim the trophy but virtually every European bookmaker has England and France among the top four favorites.

It’s hard to believe that England has not won a U21 Euro Championship in 35 years. They reached the semifinals of this competition in 2017 losing to eventual champion Germany on penalty kicks. They’ve got a great chance to go deep in the competition again this year. Aidy Boothroyd’s team is simply loaded–up and down the roster the team is full of young talent from the English Premier League including Chelsea defender and team captain Jake Clarke-Salter. Other EPL representatives include Crystal Palace defender Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Leicester midfielder James Maddison Arsenal forward Reiss Nelson and 19 year old Manchester City midfielder Phil Foden. For many players on many teams this competition ranks among the biggest challenges of their football careers–even if they play in a strong European League. It’s hard to imagine a player like Foden who plays for Pep Guardiola on the defending Premiership champion will find this situation intimidating.

France also has some quality talent including Arsenal midfielder Matteo Guendouzi , midfielder Olivier Ntcham who plays for Celtic in the Scottish Premier League and striker Moussa Dembele who plays for Lyon in France’s Ligue One. The reality is that France’s youth soccer system isn’t as far along in it’s development as England’s. In fact, this is France’s first appearance in the U21 Euro since 2006. The result is that England has much more depth throughout the roster. Both England and France ripped through the qualification process for the tournament. England went 8-2-0 in their 10 games finishing their pool play 8 points clear from second place Holland. France went 9-1-0 in pool play finishing 12 ahead of second place Slovenia. Curiously, neither team has fared well in friendlies since the qualification. England drew with Poland and lost to Germany in March while France at least picked up a win over Turkey in their friendlies. The results may have something to do with the European league season with many players from both sides occupied with their club teams.

Horse players frequently use the term ‘back class’. It simply means that a horse has had more experience in quality races against quality competition than his opponents in a given event. The same thing could be said for England in this matchup. They’ve got a lineup that features more players with high level European League experience coming from a program that has shown consistent success for decades. France can’t match their roster in this regard nor have they had much success at this level for the past decade. The U21 Euro soccer odds for this game are extremely close but we think England is the decidedly superior team.

BET ENGLAND PK -107 OVER FRANCE
BET ENGLAND/FRANCE OVER 2.5 -109

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