England Under-21s celebrate their second goalGetty Images

Jonathan Rowe celebrates with team-mates after scoring England's second goal

Alex Howell
BBC Sport football news reporter

Harvey Elliott set England Under-21s on the way to a successful start as the holders began their European Championship title defence with victory against the Czech Republic.

Head coach Lee Carsley had to deal with a number of squad withdrawals in the build-up to the tournament in Slovakia but still named an attacking side for the Young Lions' opening match.

England took the lead in the 39th minute when Tino Livramento, who was a constant threat from left-back, had a cross deflected into the area and the ball fell to captain James McAtee who teed up Liverpool's Elliott to drill a low shot into the net.

Livramento was involved again for England's second goal when he beat his man with an excellent piece of skill, and his low cross into the box got a slight touch from Jonathan Rowe which beat Czech goalkeeper Lukas Hornicek.

The Czech Republic pulled one back just three minutes later when Daniel Fila headed in Vaclav Sejk's chipped cross.

England made sure of the win when Charlie Cresswell headed in Alex Scott's curling corner after 76 minutes.

What was the main talking point?

Before this tournament, Carsley challenged his current team to be better than the group he coached to the Euros trophy two years ago in Georgia.

That team won all six matches and did not concede a goal on their way to glory, so it is a high bar. However, in a creative 4-2-2-2 formation, there were signs that this team could go deep into this tournament.

Nottingham Forest's Elliot Anderson and Bournemouth's Scott were a solid base in midfield, while the system Carsley chose allowed him to fit in four attacking players that could interchange.

Having Livramento and Archie Gray playing at full-back meant that Carsley had players who were comfortable when receiving the ball in tight areas in most positions on the pitch.

Ethan Nwaneri was introduced as a second-half substitute, looking sharp during his 20 minutes on the pitch, and the 18-year-old Arsenal winger could be a big asset as the tournament progresses.

What information do we collect from this quiz?

Who stood out and who did not?

Livramento was England's standout player as they began their mission in the town of Dunajska Streda.

The Newcastle full-back did a good job of threatening by going on the outside of defenders to cross the ball while also still cutting inside to start attacks.

Anderson was also impressive in midfield and did well to manage his game after picking up a yellow card in the opening 20 seconds. But all England players gave a good account of themselves.

Player of the match

T. Livramento
8.40
19 K. Spáčil
5.20
16 L. Horníček
5.17
9 V. Sejk
5.09
5 Š. Chaloupek
4.98
7 D. Fila
4.98
21 F. Vecheta
4.91
18 F. Prebsl
4.90
13 K. Daněk
4.79
10 A. Karabec
4.78
4 M. Suchomel
4.74
14 V. Stránský
4.69
6 P. Vydra
4.62
22 M. Hadaš
4.58
20 J. Koželuh
4.58
12 A. Sojka
4.57
3 O. Kričfaluši
4.34
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After the opportunity to rate players has closed, the score displayed represents the average from all the submissions by BBC Sport users.

The standout stats

England dominated the ball in this game and had 68.4% of possession - also having more touches in the box than their opponents.

The Czech Republic had 12 touches in England's penalty area compared to the 33 the Young Lions had in theirs.

What's next for these teams?

England are next in action against Slovenia on Sunday in the second round of matches in Group B, while the Czech Republic take on Germany on the same day.

Where next?

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