Defending champions England U21 beat Czech U21 3-1 in their first match of Group B at the 2025 European Under-21 Football Championship, thanks to goals from Elliott, Jonathan Rowe and Charlie Cresswell. Head coach Lee Carsley said he expects the team to continue to improve and go further in the tournament.

Livramento's lob pass in the 39th minute was cleared, and Elliott, who plays for Liverpool, received McCarty's pass and shot the ball into the goal, helping England U21 to open the scoring with a 1-0 lead. In the 48th minute of the second half, Livramento made a cross, and Jonathan Rowe received the ball and entered the penalty area from the left and shot, helping England U21 continue to lead Czech U21 2-0.

In the 51st minute, Vaclav Sek made a lob pass to the goal and Daniel Fila scored with a header, helping Czech U21 to tie the game at 1-2. In the 76th minute, Alex Scott took a corner kick and Charlie Cresswell jumped up and headed the ball into the goal, helping England U21 to extend their lead to 3-1.

In the end, England U21 defeated Czech U21 3-1.

England U21 coach Lee Carsley said, "Our goal is to achieve good results, but this is the first time this group of players have played together. Some of them are arranged in different positions, so we don't intend to put too much pressure on them. We also expect that the game may be a bit chaotic at certain times."

"In the second half we didn't control the game as much as we wanted and sometimes played the ball long too early, but the players deserve credit, not just the starters but also the players who came off the bench."

In addition, England U21 will face Slovenia in the next round of the group stage.

Lee Carsley also said, “I definitely expect the team to continue to improve as long as we can go further in this tournament. The next two days will be crucial for recovery and preparation for the match in Slovenia. We will never underestimate Slovenia because we have done a lot of research and they are a very well organized team.”