England will play Germany in Euro Under-21 Championships semi-finals

Piotr Nowak/AFP/Getty Images
Piotr Nowak/AFP/Getty Images

England will play Germany in the semi-finals of the European Under-21 championships.

Aidy Boothroyd’s side reached the knock-out stages by securing top-spot in Group A with a comfortable 3-0 victory over hosts Poland on Thursday night.

Despite losing to Italy on Saturday evening, Germany booked their place in the final four by being the best-performing runner-up. Italy and Spain complete the final four. The semi-finals will take place on Tuesday, June 27.

Speaking after their victory in Kielce, Boothroyd was pleased with how his side handled the pressure of a must-win game.

"It's a great moment,” he told the BBC. “After the first game, which was a draw, it was doom and gloom. But we have a good group here and got the two wins that we needed. It was a high-pressure game, if we hadn't won then we would be out.

"We carried out the game plan to a T. We controlled the game and played really well. There were a few nervy moments.

"Demarai Gray was terrific. He worked his socks off. It is a squad game and one of the hardest things is keeping the lads who aren't playing motivated. But it is a good group, I'm really pleased."