Under-21 Group B: Czechia vs England facts

Holders England kick off their defence of the UEFA European Under-21 Championship against Czechia at the DAC Aréna in Dunajská Streda as Group B of the 2025 finals gets under way.

Making their tenth successive finals appearance, England also began the 2023 tournament against Czechia, recording the first of six successive victories on their way to lifting the trophy for the first time since 1984. The Czechs have qualified for the fifth time in six tournaments, although their last four finals campaigns have all ended in the group stage.

Group B is completed by Germany – who were also in England and Czechia's section two years ago – and Slovenia.

Previous European U21 Championship meetings

Matches 5
Czechia wins 1
England wins 3
Draws 1
Czechia goals 4
England goals 8

England kicked off their victorious 2023 finals campaign with a 2-0 win against Czechia, second-half goals from Jacob Ramsey (47) and Emile Smith Rowe (90+4) securing the points at the Batumi Arena on 22 June 2023.

Lee Carsley's side also beat Czechia home and away in qualifying for the 2023 tournament. Anthony Gordon's early double (4, 11) and a Folarin Balogun strike (30) helped secure a 3-1 win at Burnley's Turf Moor on 11 November 2021, Adam Karabec with the visitors' response from the penalty spot (40).

Smith Rowe (22) and Ramsey (46) got the goals at the Stadion Střelecký ostrov in České Budějovice on 3 June 2022, Daniel Fila's 88th-minute strike not enough for the home side.

Those were England's first competitive U21 wins against Czechia, both previous fixtures having come in the final tournament. The teams had played out a 0-0 draw in Arnhem on Matchday 1 in 2007; that proved to be Czechia's sole point of their campaign as they finished bottom of Group B with England progressing as runners-up before losing an epic penalty shoot-out to hosts Netherlands in the semi-finals (12-13).

Czechia staged a late rally to qualify for the 2011 semi-finals at England's expense with a 2-1 comeback win in Viborg on Matchday 3. Danny Welbeck's 76th-minute strike put his team on course for the last four but goals in the closing stages from Jan Chramosta (89) and Tomáš Pekhart (90+4) took the Czechs through as Group B runners-up instead. They lost 1-0 to Switzerland after extra time in the last four.

England have won their last four games against the Czechs and are unbeaten in five since that 2011 defeat (W4 D1); overall, their record against Czechia is W5 D3 L2.

Form guide

Czechia

This is Czechia's tenth final tournament appearance, and a fifth in six editions of the competition. Semi-finalists in 2011 and runners-up in 2000, they were champions in 2002, beating France on penalties in the final with a team including Petr Čech, Zdeněk Grygera, Tomáš Hübschman and Milan Baroš.

In addition, Czechoslovakia were losing quarter-finalists on six occasions.

Czechia's last four finals appearances have all ended in the group stage, Jan Suchopárek's side finishing third in Group C at the 2023 tournament behind eventual champions England and Israel but ahead of Germany, who they had beaten 2-1 on Matchday 2.

That is Czechia's only victory in their last four finals matches (D2 L4).

Suchopárek's team were second in Group I behind Denmark in qualifying for these finals, picking up 14 points from their eight games (W4 D2 L2) before being Belgium 3-1 in a two-legged play-off (2-0 a, 1-1 h).

Václav Sejk was Czechia's top scorer in qualifying on four goals.

England

This is England's tenth successive final tournament campaign – the longest ongoing sequence in the competition – and a 12th overall; they last missed out in 2006.

A team coached by Lee Carsley claimed England's first U21 title in 39 years in 2023, finishing first in Group C on a maximum nine points before beating Portugal (1-0), Israel (3-0) and, in the final, Spain (1-0), the latter through a Curtis Jones goal with James Trafford saving a late penalty.

Carsley's side qualified for these finals as Group F winners (W8 D1 L1), their 41 goals more than any other side. A 3-2 loss against runners-up Ukraine was their first away qualifying defeat in 12 years.

Harvey Elliott – another member of the victorious 2023 squad – was England's top scorer in qualifying on seven goals.

Champions in 1982 and 1984, England also reached four further semi-finals in the first six editions of the European U21 Championship.

Links and trivia

Have played in England:
Antonín Kinský (Tottenham 2025–)
Matěj Jurásek (Norwich 2025–)

Have played together:
Antonín Kinský & Archie Gray, Dane Scarlett (Tottenham 2025–)
Matěj Jurásek & Callum Doyle, Ben Chrisene, Kellen Fisher (Norwich 2025–)