England U21 player ratings v Slovenia - Nwaneri and McAtee woeful, Beadle stuns

England U21 player ratings v Slovenia – Nwaneri and McAtee woeful, Beadle stuns

England were held to a 0-0 draw by Slovenia in the second game of their Under 21 Euros campaign.

The Young Lions now require a draw against Germany in their next game to guarantee progression into the knockout stages.

However, if Lee Carsley’s side fail to beat their rivals, they may have to face a star-studded Spain outfit in the quarter-finals.

Slovenia came out the blocks quicker than Carsley’s men, as Birmingham City transfer target James Beadle was the busier of the two goalkeepers in the first half.

Neither side managed to break the deadlock, but Slovenia’s Svit Seslar posed a constant danger to England.

Photo Credit: Imago

England Under-21 player ratings v Slovenia

James Beadle – 8

The Brighton youngster decided to kneel down and block an early effort with his leg, which Channel 4’s co-commentator Conor Coady aptly described as ‘strange’. After that, though, the former Sheffield Wednesday man produced an impressive catalogue of saves.

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Archie Gray – 5

Unsurprisingly, the versatile Tottenham man often augmented the midfield, however that sometimes gave former Leeds United teammate Charlie Cresswell more defensive work than he would have liked.

Charlie Cresswell – 6

The Toulouse centre-back boasts an imposing physique at Under-21 level, while he was also comfortable in possession.

Jarell Quansah – 6

Jarell Quansah had a largely solid game, but arguably did not of quality his 58 senior Liverpool appearances suggest he can do on the youth international scene.

Tino Livramento – 7

The Newcastle United man looked comfortable slightly out of position at left-back, providing defensive stability as well as attacking threat.

Hayden Hackney – 7

While playing alongside Premier League talents such as Harvey Elliott and Elliot Anderson, Championship ace Hayden Hackney was England’s midfield metronome.

Harvey Elliott – 6

Similarly to Liverpool teammate Jarell Quansah, Elliott did not provide the sort of quality that his Reds exploits suggest he is capable of. However, he was often Carsley’s most lively threat in an otherwise stagnant display, and hit the woodwork.

Elliot Anderson – 7

The Nottingham Forest star was arguably unlucky to have been hooked from the action after showing his creative tendencies, and picked Elliott out with a fantastic cross-field ball.

James McAtee – 4

Poor. While James McAtee could leave Manchester City having been left out of Pep Guardiola’s Club World Cup squad, the 22-year-old did not perform well for England on Sunday. He instead missed the target when he could have squared the ball to Jonathan Rowe, who rightly cut a frustrated figure. He subsequently directed a cross harmlessly into the arms of Slovenia goalkeeper Martin Turk.

McAtee performed poorly for England (Credit Imago)

Ethan Nwaneri – 4

The Arsenal star boasts the sort of talent that could make him the best player in this summer’s Under 21 tournament. However, the 18-year-old did not look like a Gunners regular against Slovenia, missing a close-range chance which looked easier to score.

Jonathan Rowe – 5

The 22-year-old was reduced to feeding off scraps thanks to the woeful service provided by McAtee and Nwaneri. Rowe isn’t an out-and-out striker, while Carsley may look to start conventional forward Jay Stansfield against Germany on Wednesday, 18 June.

Substitutes

Brooke Norton-Cuffy (for Gray, 64) – 5

The former Arsenal man failed to show the kind of dynamism he formerly showed at Championship level during loan spells with the likes of Rotherham and Millwall.

Jack Hinshelwood (for Anderson, 64) – 6

One of Brighton’s gems could not provide the sort of quality that had been on display from Anderson, before forcing Turk into a great save via a close-range header late on.

Omari Hutchinson (for Rowe , 65) – 5

While Omari Hutchinson showed glimpses of his quality on the ball, his end product left a lot to be desired.

Tyler Morton – (for Hackney, 72) – 5

Tyler Morton added some calmness to the middle of the park for the Young Lions, but was vastly outshone by the man he replaced.

Jay Stansfield – (for Nwaneri, 72) – 6

The Birmingham City star added the sort of direct threat that Carsley’s side had lacked, and evidently deserved more game time.

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