Tino Livramento is one of the Newcastle United players away on international duty, with the defender hoping to help lead the England U21s to yet more success.
Livramento is one of Newcastle United’s most important players and surely has a claim to be considered among the best young full-backs in the Premier League.
Able to operate on both flanks, it was a surprise to see the 22-year-old snubbed from the senior England side by Thomas Tuchel.
Tuchel told Livramento to take “responsibility” for the England U21s and it’d be fair to say he did exactly that on Thursday.
The Newcastle defender was brilliant for Lee Carsley’s side as they began the defence of their title with a 3-1 win over Czechia.
Indeed, UEFA’s Technical Observer Group named him the Player of the Match.
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Livramento was involved in Harvey Elliott’s opener, and provided the assist from which Jonathan Rowe scored their second.
The Czechs would pull one back before Charlie Cresswell restored England’s two-goal advantage, meaning the defending champions began their campaign to defend the title they won in 2023 with a victory.
On UEFA’s official website, the governing body’s Technical Observer Group said of Livramento’s performance: “A high-energy and extremely positive performance in which the attacking full-back dealt with any defending competently and made a huge contribution to England’s attacking play, particularly their first two goals.”
Tino Livramento’s stats for England U21s vs Czechia U21s
Given Kyle Walker’s struggles for the England senior side against Senegal earlier this week, Tuchel’s decision to overlook Livramento is looking rather foolish.
The Newcastle defender was excellent in both an attacking and defensive sense for the Young Lions.
Not only did he provide an assist, he also made two ball recoveries, had 80 touches and found the mark with 91% of his 70 attempted passes.
| Czechia U21 vs England U21 stats | Tino Livramento |
| Touches | 80 |
| Balls recovered | 2 |
| Pass completion rate | 94% |
| Assists | 1 |
It was a statement display from a player who, frankly, is probably much too far along in his development to be appearing in this tournament.
Still, Tuchel’s loss is Carsley’s gain.
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