Sweden Under-21s 0 England Under-21s 0: Jordan Pickford saves penalty but Young Lions can only draw in Euro Under-21 Championship opener

EVERTON’S new £30million goalie Jordan Pickford proved he was worth every penny with a dramatic late penalty save for England against Sweden.

But Aidy Boothroyd’s Young Lions could only draw 0-0 in their European Under-21 Championship opener, with both sides hitting the crossbar in a rather subdued stalemate.

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Jordan Pickford was England’s saviour as he saved a late penalty against Sweden[/caption]

England’s starting XI boasted a number of top talents from the Premier League and Championship, including stars from Chelsea, Arsenal, Everton, Southampton and Leicester.

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But the likes of Nathaniel Chalobah and James Ward-Prowse failed to make an impact and Boothroyd could be forced to rethink his options ahead of Monday’s clash against Slovakia.

Tammy Abraham looked dangerous in the opening stages, going close with a volley in the opening stages.

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But Sweden refused to sit back and started to take control by utilising star man Pawel Cibicki on the wing.

Norwich’s Jacob Murphy fired over just before the half-time whistle but the action soon picked  when Cibicki smashed the England woodwork with a curling strike which left Pickford stranded.

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However, the Young Lions responded in kind when Ben Chilwell’s low shot took a huge deflection off a Swedish player before hitting the crossbar.

But England’s night looked destined to end in misery when Chilwell’s over-zealous lunge resulted in a 79^th minute penalty for Sweden.

Linus Wahlqvist looked calm as he struck down the middle but ex-Sunderland ace Pickford produced a confident save to rescue a point and keep the group wide open.

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FACTS, STATS, GOALS AND LOLS

• SWEDEN thought they had put one over England by refusing to allow UEFA to water the pitch before kick-off. The rules both countries must agree for the pitch to be watered. The super dry Swedes claimed it gave the Young Lions a “competitive advantage.”
• BUT God showed he is an England fan as 30 minutes before kick-off he unleashed a huge thunderstorm on the Kielce Stadium, soaking the pitch and all inside it. Sweden 0 England 1.
• THE match was supposed to be a 15,000 sellout but there were plenty of empty grey and wet seats inside the Kielce Stadium. And it turned out the gate was 11,672. Surely the organisers were not just trying to put out a good news story, were they? Nah.
• THE pre-match deluge made it difficult for the players on the pitch to keep their feet but England boss Aidy Boothroyd had no trouble keeping his in a rather snazzy pair of blue and brown brogues. Who says Yorkshiremen have no style?

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• HIS boys turned on the style as they forced three corners in the opening 10 minutes, almost scoring from two of them as Melker Hallberg sliced a clearance over his own net before Tammy Abraham volleyed over the bar.
• FOR all of England’s positive start, Sweden almost took the lead with their first chance of the match in the 28th minute when Pawel Cibicki linked up with Bristol City’s Gustav Engvall before blazing his shot
  over the bar from the corner of the six-yard box.
• THERE was not one shot on target in the first half. The only ones enjoying themselves seemed to be the Swedish fans who dug out their old anti-England chant “Go home to your ugly wives”. This came about at the Euro 2008 in Kiev when Three Lions fans taunted them with “You’re s**t, but your birds are fit.”
• JORDAN PICKFORD was England Under-21s – as his late penalty stop saved them from defeat in their Euro 2017 opener. It means Aidy Boothroyd’s Young Lions still have a decent chance of progressing at these Finals, although they will have to play much better than they did here.

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WHAT THEY SAID

England goalie Jordan Pickford: “The main thing is not to lose the game. Going into the first game it’s always nice to get three points.

“We came away with a draw and it’s down to use to win the next two.

“I just waited a bit longer (for the penalty), held my ground and went to the left and got a hand to it.

“I can concentrate on the Euros now (after Everton), I can relax now. I needed to move on to that next step. Everton was the best one for me.”