Which young stars shone and who struggled during England's 4-2 defeat to Romania?
Friday 21 June 2019 21:57, UK
England crashed out of the U21 European Championships on Friday when their 4-2 defeat to Romania was followed by France's win over Croatia.
Here we assess the performances of the Young Lions...
Had been England's star performer - until his late howler handed Romania victory. Henderson was forced into three fine saves inside 15 minutes and was then alert at the start of the second half to parry another strike from a tight angle behind for a corner. He was eventually beaten by George Puscas' penalty and Ianis Hagi's stunner, but allowed a tame Florinel Teodor Coman strike through his grasp to put Romania 3-2 up and then had to watch Coman's wonder strike sail past him.
Battled hard in the early stages when England were on the back foot and did well to hold up Hagi on a dangerous Romania counter-attack. Rarely pushed too far into Romania's half but delivered a handful of dangerous crosses, with Dominic Calvert-Lewin heading one narrowly over the bar. Taken off before Romania's late flurry.
Stretched by the pace and trickery of Puscas at times, especially when England were exposed several times early on but almost produced the winner with the game at 1-1, forcing Romania keeper Ionut Radu to parry his header onto the post. Was unable to prevent Romania running wild in final 10 minutes.
Worked hard to limit Romania's chief threat Puscas, positioning himself well against the striker to snuff out a dangerous second-half break but for the second game in a row he gave away the ball in costly fashion. Under pressure from Puscas, Tomori miscued a clearance, allowing Hagi to fire Romania 2-1 up.
Came in to replace the suspended Hamza Choudhury and although he gave away possession on the half hour, which allowed Romania to counter, otherwise looked after the ball well. Had a header from a corner cleared off the line but struggled as England were over-run on the counter late on.
Produced a moment of magic to pull England level at 1-1, cutting in from the left flank before curling his shot into the far corner. Up until then it had been a frustrating performance from the talented winger, who had barely had a chance to put his electric pace to good use and was often stuck with his back to goal. However, after his fine strike, Gray became England's go-to man as they pushed forward late on.
Maddison whipped an early free-kick narrowly wide and looked a threat from set pieces all evening. Tested the keeper with a powerful drive in the second half but wasn't at his absolute best, giving the ball away cheaply twice in quick succession midway through the first half, with the offside flag sparing England from conceding on one of those occasions.
Aidy Boothroyd took the call to replace Aaron Wan-Bissaka in the starting line-up with Kenny but the move failed to pay off. Kenny allowed Andrei Ivan room in the box early on but was spared by a horror miss. However, things didn't get much better. Kenny struggled to have an impact going forwards and then got sucked into giving away a soft penalty by going to ground in the box with 15 minutes to play, which sparked the spate of late goals.
Looked bright on the left flank early on when he fired a deflected shot into the side netting but struggled to really ignite. Fair to say he didn't seize his opportunity and was replaced by Ryan Sessegnon at the break.
Failed to really shine. Had a shot blocked inside the box early on and tested the keeper with a powerful low shot from distance just before the break. Wasn't as influential as Boothroyd would have hoped in the second half, although he did find Tammy Abraham in the box for England's leveller at 2-2.
Worked the channels hard in the opening stages but struggled to find space in central areas. Caught on his heels when Gray fizzed an excellent cross past him in the six-yard box when it just needed a touch and then twice headed good crosses over the bar in the second period.
Sent on at half-time but barely last 10 minutes before being forced off himself with a left knee issue.
England had been crying out for his creativity and he was eventually introduced on 57 minutes. Had an instant impact when his snap shot was parried onto the post and was at the heart of England's most threatening moves. England needed that quality from the off.
Stepped up and delivered for his side when they needed him... although Henderson's howler meant it counted for nothing. Sub Abraham was sent on with just 14 minutes remaining and struck a superb equaliser, shooting across goal and into the far corner moments after Romania had gone 2-1 up. Almost came up with another to make it 3-3, but shot straight at the keeper and then headed against the woodwork. Should have been on earlier.
England face Croatia on Monday at 8pm in their final Group C clash, and every game during the UEFA European Under-21 Championship will be shown live on Sky Sports.
Sky Sports subscribers will also be able to stream the games via the Sky Sports app or the Sky Go app.
Non-subscribers can watch all the action through NOW TV. A Sky Sportsday pass is available for £8.99, a week pass for £14.99 or a month pass for £33.99. NOW TV can be streamed through a computer or apps.
