International
2025-06-15 - England U21 vs Slovenia U21
A Sports Betting Pick by Auls
Football: UEFA Under 21 European Championship Group C
Sunday 15th June 2025 - Kick Off 5pm
This game is live on TV
Preview
Defending the Under 21 European title is the ambition of this England U21 team, but they will feel there are going to be greater challenges ahead, especially once they get out of this Group Stage. The 3-1 win over Czechia U21 puts England in a strong position immediately, although Lee Carsley will feel there is still some improvement to be made.
The first concern for England is to Qualify for the Quarter Final before the final Group game against Germany U21, a real rival as far as the eventual Champion is concerned.
There was enough to like from England in the opening win to feel they can build on what was achieved and they are not yet set to face one of the top teams in the tournament. Instead next up is Slovenia U21 who were well beaten by Germany in the opening Group game and already under some real pressure to find a way to turn things around.
One of the real blows for Slovenia is how easy it was for Germany to create chances against them and they are going to have be significantly stronger at the back. However, a draw is unlikely going to be a result that benefits them too much and that will force Slovenia to have to come out at some point, which is something England can exploit.
Slovenia have won 1 of their last 7 games and confidence may be tough to find against the defending Champion.
They did draw with France in the Qualifying Group, but Slovenia have rarely faced teams of that quality and England is a significant test for them.
All is not completely lost for Slovenia and they will take heart from the two matches played against the eventual 2023 Winners during that Qualifying campaign. England failed to win two games out of ten Qualifiers and both were against Slovenia with the latter securing a 1-2 win at the John Smith's Stadium in Huddersfield during that Qualifying run.
Slovenia will need to lean into that result as they look to turn things around from the thumping loss to Germany and make sure they still have something real to play for in the final round robin of fixtures.
Prediction
You cannot read too much into opening Group matches, but this section always looked like one that would be dominated by two of the top three favourites to win the Under 21 European Championship.
Both England and Germany showed their strength in the opening games and the defending Champions should be able to back that up with three more points to Qualify for the Quarter Final.
They will have respect for a Slovenia team that took four points from England in the 2023 Qualifying Group, but the pressure is on the underdog following the 3-0 loss to Germany.
A positive result is needed, but finding the balance between attack and defence may be too much of an obstacle to overcome and England can secure another relatively comfortable win with a late goal to end the Slovenia hopes.
The Pick :
England U21 3-0 Slovenia U21
