It was disappointment for Liam Moore and England Under-21s on Wednesday night as the Young Lions bowed out of the U21 European Championships with a 3-1 defeat to Italy.
Leicester City Academy graduate Moore was an unused substitute for the match, which soon saw Gareth Southgate’s men fighting an uphill battle as the Italians stuck twice in two minutes midway through the first half. Andrea Belotti grabbed the first before Marco Bennasi added the second to leave England, who needed to avoid defeat to have any chance of progressing from the group stages, with a huge task in the Czech Republic.
However despite an improved attacking effort after the break from England, the Italians put the result beyond all doubt on 71 minutes when Benassi netted his second of the match with an excellent header beyond Jack Butland.
Norwich City’s Nathan Redmond hit a 20-yard shot that did reduce the deficit deep into stoppage time, but it was too little, too late for England, who ended the tournament at the bottom of Group B.
Despite the win for Italy, they also went out of the tournament thanks to a late draw for Sweden against group winners Portugal.