England U21s get knocked out

edwin June 06, 2013 0 Comment

England ended a miserable European Under-21 Championship campaign with a third straight defeat after Ofir Kriaf hit the winner for hosts Israel.

Stuart Pearce’s side were seeking a morale-boosting win after being knocked out at the group stage following defeats to Italy and Norway.

But they finished bottom of Group A after Kriaf’s finish cast further doubt over Pearce’s future as coach.

Thomas Ince and Wilfried Zaha both missed chances for England.England, who averaged three goals per game in qualifying, return home on Wednesday having failed to secure a single point – or a goal from open play – in 270 minutes of action at the finals.

Their qualification campaign for the 2015 Championships starts on 5 September at home to Moldova, but whether Pearce will still be in charge remains to be seen.

The former Manchester City manager isout of contract at the end of the month and is due to have talks about his future with the Football Association in the next two weeks.

If this was his final game in charge then there were very few positives to glean.

With their exit having been confirmed at the weekend, Pearce stuck to his pre-match promise of giving his squad’s younger players valuable experience. Indeed, the team boasted just two senior caps – Jonjo Shelvey and Zaha.

And Pearce may take some comfort from the fact his side once again created more chances and had more shots on target than their opponents.

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