England U21 3-0 Poland U21

England reached the semi-finals of the European Under-21 Championship for the first time since 2009 by comfortably beating 10-man Poland to finish top of Group A.

Demarai Gray opened the scoring early on with a long-range effort before substitute Jacob Murphy tapped in.

Poland rarely threatened and had defender Jan Bednarek sent off late on for tripping Tammy Abraham in the box.

Lewis Baker converted the resultant penalty to complete the win.

The victory against the hosts means Aidy Boothroyd's side top the standings with seven points.

• England wait on Chalobah & Redmond injuries

• Listen: 'England have the ability to win Euro 2017'

Who will England play in the last four?

England will not know their semi-final opponents until the completion of the group stage on Saturday.

They will play either Portugal from Group B or Germany, Italy or the Czech Republic from Group C.

There are only three groups at the tournament - with the three winners each progressing along with the best-placed runners up. Who England play depends on who claims the spot as the best runner-up.

At the moment Slovakia, who finished second in Group A behind England with six points and a goal difference of +3, are in a strong position.

If that happens then England will play the winner of Group C, which with one round of games left to play is topped by Germany with six points.

However, if Slovakia do not claim that place then England's last-four opponents will be either Portugal (who are the only team in Group B that could finish in a better position than Slovakia) or Germany, Italy or the Czech Republic (who could all finish in second place with a better record than Slovakia) in Group C.

England growing into the tournament

Aidy Boothroyd's side have won two and drawn one of their three games at the tournament so far

England's first 135 minutes of football at the tournament did nothing to suggest they were capable of avoiding a third successive group-stage exit.

They were unadventurous and ponderous in the opener against Sweden, managing just a single shot on target, and were equally poor for the first 45 minutes of their second game against Slovakia, in which they trailed 1-0 at the break.

However, they showed grit and determination to fight back and win that game 2-1, putting them in control of their own destiny, and they came out fighting in an intimidating atmosphere against Poland.

Goalkeeper Jordan Pickford once again showed why Everton paid Sunderland £30m for his services with a confident and assured display, while the Leicester pair of Ben Chilwell and Gray were also excellent.

Chilwell dominated down the left, snubbing out Poland attacks while getting forward quickly to create chances, and it was from his excellent pass that Gray scored the opener.

But in truth there were standout performances all over the pitch for England.

Southampton midfielder James Ward-Prowse provided a threat from set-pieces that is so often lacking at senior level, while Alfie Mawson was a dominant presence in defence as well as offering an aerial threat in attack.

The Swansea defender was only denied adding his name to the scoresheet by an excellent Jakub Wrabel save.

After a slow start it appears England are finding their form just at the right time.

Can England go all the way?

It has been a good summer of major tournament football so far for England.

They reached the final of the European Under-17 Championship before losing to Spain on penalties.

England then claimed their biggest international title since 1966 when their Under-20 side won the World Cup earlier this month, and now the Under-21s are just two wins away from lifting another major trophy.

However, Spain have been the standout team at the tournament so far. They were the only team to secure their place in the semi-finals with a game to spare and boast some outstanding talent.

Saul Niguez, an Atletico Madrid regular and capped three times by the Spanish senior side, scored a memorable overhead kick in a 5-0 defeat of Macedonia, with Real Madrid's Marco Asensio scoring a hat-trick in that game.

Germany have also won their two games so far and have the tournament's most formidable defence - they are the only team yet to concede a goal.

However, if England perform like they did against Poland then they have every chance of emulating their Under-20 counterparts.

'Almost the perfect evening' - analysis

BBC Radio 5 live chief footballer reporter Ian Dennis: "If it wasn't for the two injuries to Nathaniel Chalobah and Nathan Redmond then this would be the perfect evening for Aidy Boothroyd.

"James Ward-Prowse said he felt England could go to another level and the captain was spot on as England produced their best display of the Championship.

"England were assured, creative and totally dominant to gain an emphatic victory, the margin of which would have been far greater had it not been for Jakub Wrabel, the Poland goalkeeper.

"England would have faced criticism had they made another exit so it is only right to acknowledge the achievement of finishing as group winners.

"Sixteen of this squad helped England win the Toulon tournament for the first time in 22 years last summer so there is a togetherness that exists and confidence is growing, momentum is everything in tournament football."

'England can get even stronger' - analysis

England Under-20 boss Paul Simpson, speaking on BBC Radio 5 live: "That was a top, top performance from the first whistle. They did everything manager Aidy Boothroyd would have wanted. It wasn't done by lumping it forwards, it was controlled possession while also being a real threat from set-pieces.

"This performance puts a marker down and shows what we are all about - we are not just here to make up the numbers, we are into the semi-final. And we can go on and get even stronger."

'We controlled the game'

England Under-21s boss Aidy Boothroyd: "It's a great moment. 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."