England U21 vs Israel U21. European Under-21 Championship Group C.
Givi Kiladze StadiumAttendance5,106.
Match report as England U21s beat Israel 2-0 to reach the quarter-finals of Euro 2023; Anthony Gordon puts the Young Lions ahead before Emile Smith Rowe doubles the lead in the second half; England qualify as Group C winners and will face Germany in their final group game on Wednesday
Monday 26 June 2023 06:01, UK
England U21s reached the quarter-finals of Euro 2023 as Group C winners following a comfortable 2-0 victory against Israel.
Anthony Gordon's header put them in front in the 15th minute before Emile Smith Rowe doubled the lead in the second half.
Lee Carsley's side, guaranteed top spot after beating the Czech Republic in their opening match, will meet Germany in the final group game on Wednesday.
After starting brightly, England nearly took the lead after some quick passing around the box was finished by Smith Rowe, but his backheeled effort was ruled out for offside.
They continued to attack with Gordon firing a promising ball into the box and Curtis Jones' shot was well defended by Gil Cohen.
The dominant start was rewarded with quarter of an hour gone when a brilliant cross from Morgan Gibbs-White on the left found Gordon in the centre of the box and the Newcastle forward nodded the ball into the bottom corner.
England were in charge but Israel sparked into life in the final 10 minutes of the first half.
Dor Turgeman had the first opportunity with his header going wide of the post and Ethane Azoulay had a better chance in stoppage time when his direct free-kick from the edge of the area was saved by James Trafford.
England had an opportunity to double their lead three minutes after the break when Gibbs-White threaded a great ball through to Noni Madueke, but his effort flew wide.
Daniel Peretz made a great punch to clear the danger from Gibbs-White's curling free-kick before a solid spell of pressure from Israel saw Karm Jaber's effort go wide.
England eventually earned their second through Smith Rowe in the 68th minute with an excellent finish from the Arsenal forward drilled low into the left corner.
They continued to push and substitute Cameron Archer nearly made it three, but Peretz made a solid save from a tight angle.
A great run from Harvey Elliott down the centre found Cole Palmer on the right, but his shot was easily blocked and cleared by the Israel defence before Yoav Hofmeister made a solid challenge to stop Jacob Ramsey's attempted shot in the final minutes.
England U21 manager Lee Carsley told UEFA.com: "The result was really important for us, we spoke about it beforehand, making sure we performed and we spoke about mentality and having that ability to find a way to win.
"We knew it would be a tough game, Israel don't score many goals but don't concede many either. It was a good performance, but there is a lot more to come from this team."
Anthony Gordon, who opened the scoring for England, said: "It was a massive game. That was our goal at the beginning of the tournament [to get through], we've done it, still a long way to go.
"Some things we could do better with that performance but two wins, no goals conceded - on to the next one.
"I'm really happy playing with this team at the minute with the role the manager has given me. I just want to keep building on these performances, keep getting better and hopefully scoring and getting an assist in every game."
Israel coach Guy Luzon admitted it was a difficult match for his side, who are without a win in the competition.
"It was a really tough game. England had one of the best games in the competition," he told UEFA.com.
"A lot of quality, a lot of skills, a lot of strength. It was really difficult for us."
