Emile Smith Rowe and the England u21s came out on top in their quarter-final against Nuno Tavares and Portugal on Sunday.

Emile Smith Rowe scores for the England u21s (Photo via England on Twitter)
Emile Smith Rowe scores for the England u21s (Photo via England on Twitter)

The England u21s took on Portugal in the quarter-final of the u21 European Championship on Sunday, a single-leg knockout match with the loser going home.

For the fourth consecutive game, Arsenal’s Nuno Tavares made the starting lineup for Portugal, but Emile Smith Rowe was on the bench for England despite scoring two in his previous three games at the tournament.

England took a first-half lead, with Anthony Gordon turning home a cross from Morgan Gibbs-White, before Smith Rowe was eventually introduced in the second half.

Portugal hit the crossbar late on, but they couldn’t find the equaliser they needed. The match finished 1-0, with England progressing to the next round.

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ORLANDO, FLORIDA: Nuno Tavares of Arsenal and Facundo Torres of Orlando City fight for the ball during a Florida Cup friendly at Exploria Stadium on July 20, 2022. (Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)
ORLANDO, FLORIDA: Nuno Tavares of Arsenal and Facundo Torres of Orlando City fight for the ball during a Florida Cup friendly at Exploria Stadium on July 20, 2022. (Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)

Tavares should now have a break before linking up with Arsenal for pre-season training.

Jacob Ramsey seemed to be withdrawn from the quarter-final with an injury, raising the possibility that Smith Rowe could take his place in the lineup for the semi-final. We’ll have to wait and see how that pans out.

England will face Israel again in that semi-final, having already beaten the same opposition 2-0 in the group stage with Smith Rowe scoring.

If they can achieve the same result again on Wednesday, England would then face either Ukraine or Spain in the final.

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LEICESTER, ENGLAND: Emile Smith Rowe of England U21 is tackled by Mohamed Simakan of France U21 during the International Friendly match between England U21 and France U21 at The King Power Stadium on March 25, 2023. (Photo by Gareth Copley/Getty Images)
LEICESTER, ENGLAND: Emile Smith Rowe of England U21 is tackled by Mohamed Simakan of France U21 during the International Friendly match between England U21 and France U21 at The King Power Stadium on March 25, 2023. (Photo by Gareth Copley/Getty Images)

Wednesday, June 21st

  • Georgia 2-0 Portugal – Tavares played 90 minutes for Portugal.

Thursday, June 22nd

  • Czech Republic 0-2 England – Smith Rowe played 15 minutes and scored for England.

Saturday, June 24th

  • Portugal 1-1 Netherlands – Tavares played 90 minutes for Portugal and was booked.

Sunday, June 25th

  • England 2-0 Israel – Smith Rowe played 70 minutes and scored for England.

Tuesday, June 27th

  • Portugal 2-1 Belgium – Tavares played 90 minutes for Portugal.

Wednesday, June 28th

  • England 2-0 Germany – Smith Rowe was rested.

Sunday, July 2nd

  • Quarter-final – England 1-0 Portugal – Tavares played 90 minutes for Portugal, Smith Rowe played 23 minutes for England.

Wednesday, July 5th

  • 17:00 – Semi-final – Israel vs England

Times in BST

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