England vs Italy, u-21 European Championship, Group Stage: Open Thread

England kick off their first match in the under-21 European Championship today at 2:30pm ET (on ESPNU, ESPN Deportes and ESPN3.com for viewers in the United States) against Italy.

The Group Stage match in Group A pits an England team managed by Stuart Pearce against an Italian side that Pearce says are favorites to win the group.

England starting XI: Butland, Clyne, Caulker, Dawson, Robinson, Henderson, Lowe, Shelvey, Redmond, Sordell, Wickham.

Italy starting XI: Bardi, Donati, Biraghi, Caldirola, Bianchetti, Verratti, Florenzi, Marrone, Immobile, Insigne, Borini.

Here’s the squad for England’s u21 European Championship (although there have been some changes such as Andros Townsend dropping out due to his betting charge).

Here’s an interview with England u21 manager Stuart Pearce from yesterday, speaking about today’s match and the conditions in Israel.

Before, during or after today’s match, join the conversation about the game with other soccer fans in the comments section below.