England captain Jack Butland is a very relieved man. He made a fine save early on, but nearly gifts Croatia an equaliser. His distribution is poor as his pass is away from Tom Carroll and that enables Croatia to attack.

They move the ball down the right wing but Marko Livaja misplaces his cross straight into Butland's arms, instead of to the waiting strikers.

England are looking confident in possession after that early goal from Liam Moore. Croatia need to score two to take the tie into extra-time, while England are on course to qualify for the European Under-21 championship for the fifth successive time.

We already have our first triumphant team today and Italy U21s have qualified for Euro 2015 after sealing a 4-2 aggregate victory against Slovakia.

The first leg ended 1-1 before Italy won their home leg 3-1 to secure their place in Czech Republic.

Defender Dionatan Teixeira, who joined Stoke City in the summer, but has yet to feature in a first-team match for the Potters, was among the beaten Slovakia side.

Gareth Southgate can relax now as his side make a superb start. They could easily have fallen behind in the third minute, but Leicester defender Liam Moore puts England ahead, volleying in from close range after a well-flighted corner from Tom Carroll.

There are five other Euro 2015 play-offs going on this evening.

Fulham midfielder Lasse Christensen, who plays for Denmark's Under-21s, was less than impressed with Iceland's defensive tactics in the first leg of their qualifier, which ended goalless.

The other matches in the play-offs are ...

Portugal v Netherlands (2-0 after first leg), Germany v Ukraine (3-0 after first leg), Spain v Serbia (0-0 after first leg), Iceland v Denmark (0-0 after first leg) and Sweden v France (0-2 after first leg, starts at 19:00 BST).

The Czech Republic qualify as hosts for the eight-team competition next June.

Southampton midfielder James Ward-Prowse, who misses out through injury, tweets his support, external as he recovers in his living room.

"Huge 90 minutes between us and the #U21EURO. Shame I can't be involved but supporting from the sofa! Come on England!"

Danger already for England and Jack Butland produces a sensational save to keep things goalless in Croatia. Marko Pjaca makes a run down the right wing, gets to the byeline and pulls the ball back towards the six-yard box.

It takes a deflection and falls for Marko Pasalic, who is on Chelsea's books. He blasts an effort at goal, but Jack Butland produces a fine reaction save to push the ball over the top.

Martin McHugh:, external 21 Premier League appearances for the combined U21 squad this season. No reps from Arsenal, Manchester City, Liverpool and other mega-rich clubs. Sad.

Here we go. High fives all around from the England team. They know what they have to do, and their task seems straightforward enough. Avoid defeat and qualify.

But when is football ever straightforward though?

Saido Berahino's goal in the first leg took him to third outright in the all-time England Under-21 goalscorers.

He moved above Frank Lampard, Darren Bent and James Milner, who all scored nine times for the Young Lions, although West Brom man Berahino is still three behind Alan Shearer and Francis Jeffers.

As always, we want your thoughts and comments. Which of these England players do you think are good enough to go on and become regulars in Roy Hodgson's main team?

Are there any players who are already good enough to be playing at the top level for England?

Let us know your thoughts on Twitter, using the hashtag #bbcfootball, text us on 81111 (UK only), leave a message on our Facebook page or on Google Plus.

"We are going to possibly encounter all sorts of situations and we have to be ready for anything," said West Brom striker Saido Berahino, who scored the winner in the first leg.

"We expect Croatia to give their all and they won't give an inch at their place. It will be a time for cool heads. We can't go out there panicking."

Asked about the possibility of more racist abuse, Berahino added: "We have had discussions and we know how to deal with it. We are going to let the referee handle it."

The last time England Under-21s were in this position, things got a bit feisty.

In the Euro 2013 play-off England beat Serbia 1-0 in the first leg before a controversial second leg in Krusevac.

Image source, Getty Images

England goalkeeper Jack Butland had a number of objects thrown at him and there were monkey chants aimed at the black members of the England team (the Serbian FA would go on to be fined £65,000 for the racist abuse).

Defender Danny Rose, reacting to the chants, kicked the ball into the crowd and was sent-off before scuffles between the two sets of players and staff, with England assistant Steve Wigley involved in a fight near the tunnel.

Vinkovci, the Croatian town where tonight's game is being played, is about 25 miles from the Serbia border.

There has been lots of talk of how much rest is needed for young players.

England manager Roy Hodgson has questioned Liverpool's fitness regime, which is based on a "two-day recovery" system, after Raheem Sterling wanted to be rested before the qualifier against Estonia.

Well, Croatia don't agree.

Attacking midfielder Alen Halilovic, 18, who is on Barcelona's books, starts for their under-21s, despite playing in the 6-0 win against Azerbaijan for the full team yesterday.

England Under-21 manager Gareth Southgate said: "We controlled the game at home and we've got to have the ambition of doing that here as well.

"Obviously, Croatia will be lifted by their home support and they know they performed really well at our place so there's a bit of work to be done and I'm sure we're going to be tested in every department.

"But we feel confident that we can do the job."

Image source, @ALIBRUCEBALL/TWITTER

BBC Sport's Alistair Bruce-Ball:, external Interesting commentary positions we have worked in. Eng U21s in Croatia. View slightly restricted.

Gareth Southgate makes one change to his side that won the first leg last week. Tottenham full-back Eric Dier, who scored in both of his first two Premier League appearances for Spurs in August, comes in to replace Michael Keane, who suffered a hamstring injury in the first leg.

England U21s starting XI: Butland (c), Dier, Shaw, Hughes, Gibson, Moore, Berahino, Forster-Caskey, Kane, Carroll, Redmond.

Subs: Garbutt, Bond, Lascelles, Ince, Woodrow, Pritchard, Baker.

Croatia U21s starting XI: Livakovic, Milos, Datkovic, Mitrovic, Milic, Pasalic, Halilovic, Bradaric, Pjaca, Livaja, Rebic.

Subs: Delac, Galovic, Perica, Caktas , Bagaric, Brucic, Petar Misic.

The job is only half done.

England breezed through their qualifying group with nine wins and a draw from their 10 games. They scored 31 times, including 9-0 and 5-0 thrashings against San Marino and Lithuania respectively.

Image source, Getty Images

Southgate's side only conceded three goals in their games, but none in their five home matches. Therefore it must have come as a shock when Croatia only needed 13 minutes to open the scoring in the first leg of the qualifying play-off at Wolverhampton Wanderers' ground Molineux on Friday.

But Southgate's side recovered with goals from Tottenham's Harry Kane and West Brom's Saido Berahino to take a 2-1 lead into the return leg in Croatia.