England 0-1 Italy (7.30pm)
England U21: Butland, Clyne, Dawson, Caulker, Robinson, Henderson, Lowe, Redmond, Shelvey (McEachran 75), Sordell (Chalobah 65), Wickham (Delfouneso 82).
Subs: Steele, Smith, Wisdom, Lees, Zaha, Lansbury, Rudd.
Subs: Steele, Smith, Wisdom, Lees, Zaha, Lansbury, Rudd.
Italy U21: Bardi, Donati, Bianchetti, Caldirola, Biraghi, Florenzi, Marrone (Rossi 87), Verratti, Insigne, Borini (Destro 78), Immobile (Gabbiadini 60).
Subs: Colombi, Capuano, Sansone, Bertolacci, Paloschi, Saponara, Regini, Crimi, Leali.
Subs: Colombi, Capuano, Sansone, Bertolacci, Paloschi, Saponara, Regini, Crimi, Leali.
Goal: Insigne 79
Referee: Antony Gautier (France)
21.30: Well that's it from me. Thanks for following but remember to check back for England's next game against Norway on Saturday which the Three Lions cannot afford to lose otherwise they are out. Cheerio folks.
21.25: Celebrations from the Italians at the final whistle who have dispatched of their main group rivals to take control of the group. England are bottom but will progress providing they beat Norway and Israel later in the week.
While they were second best tonight, tests won't come much tougher than the Azzurrini and the Three Lions can take positives from the game.
Full-time: England 0-1 Italy
90+5min: Henderson this time clears the wall with his strike but Bardi is alert to dive to his right and punch clear.
90+4min: ...Henderson's free-kick hits the wall, but Insigne is booked for encroachment as we try again...
90+3min: No, this is the final chance. Chalobah is tripped by Verratti 25 yards from goal to concede a free-kick to England...
90+1min: We are into three additional minutes as England waste perhaps their last chance. Redmond, the star for Pearce's team tonight, plays a great through ball for McEachran, but the Chelsea midfielder can only side foot a pass straight to Bardi.
89min: First booking for Italy as Bianchetti is booked for fouling Chalobah, but Caulker's free-kick into the box is easily punched clear by Bardi.
87min: Redmond cuts inside and fires over the bar as Fausto Rossi replaces Marrone for Italy.
85min: Five minutes to go and if anything Italy look more likely to get a second goal than England an equaliser. It's another masterclass in keeping possession from the Italians.
82min: Final switch from England as the knackered Wickham is withdrawn in favour of Nathan Delfouneso - do Pearce's young lions have anything left to try and scrape a point?
80min: Moments before that change, Mattia Destro replaced Borini for Italy.
79min: GOAL! England 0-1 ITALY
Penalty or free-kick, it doesn't matter. Lorenzo Insigne still manages to curl home past Butland to end England's run of nine successive clean sheets and take what is perhaps a deserved lead.
78min: England survive another penalty scare as Clyne is booked for fouling Gabbiadini on the very edge of the box, despite clearly bringing down the forward inside the area.
Replays suggest the referee has got this very marginal call just about right.
75min: A second switch from England as Josh McEachran replaces Shelvey.
72min: Italy go so close to scoring a wonderful set-piece. From a free-kick 25 yards out, Veratti chips the ball to Insigne at a slight angle to goal, who misses his volley before the ball bounces out for a goal kick.
The Italian was unmarked but the attempt which looked more like a scissors kick required technique of the highest order.
69min: A tough last 20 minutes coming up for England. Italy are regaining their composure on the ball and Pearce's team are once again struggling to get the ball back.
66min: Here is the first booking as Lowe is cautioned for a slide challenge on Borini that broke up an Italy counter attack.
65min: A first change for England as Nathaniel Chalobah replaces Sordell - a difficult night for the latter.
64min: The luck shines on England and especially Butland - twice. The keeper comes to punch clear a corner only to miss it and see a rebound fall straight into his path to claim.
Seconds later he attempts to clear a ball, only to be charged down by Borini who proceeds to fire wide across the target after the England defence races back.
62min: That change seems to have worked for the Italians though. Robinson slips in the left-back area and it allows Florenzi a free run down the right. His back post cross finds Borini, whose header back across goal is tipped behind by Butland at his near post.
60min: So here is Plan B from the Azzurrini as Manolo Gabbiadini replaces Immobile in attack.
59min: Immobile fires wide from distance in what has been a timid half from the Italians so far. England to their credit have stopped them playing.
57min: Having now seen the replay. Steven Caulker is adjudged to have pushed Matteo Bianchetti inside the area but there is very little in it. That at least cancels out Italy's penalty claims from the first half.
54min: From Sportsmail's Dominic King at the Bloomfield Stadium:
Farce. Everyone in the stadium thinks #ENGU21s are leading. Take 90 seconds for goal from Dawson to be taken off scoreboard. Ridiculous. disallowed - albeit very late after Dawson had chested Shelvey's corner over the line. It appears to be for a push inside the area but I would need to see a replay.
48min: Good start from England. Wickham is just a yard offside as he clips a neat finish past Bardi, while moments earlier Robinson's lofted cross forced the Italian keeper to claim a cross that was heading for the top corner.
Second-half: The players are back out - no changes as England restart.
20.25: Is it just me or is this like Euro 2012 all over again? Italy have run the show and England are once again spending most of the game trying not to concede rather than score.
It's not quite as dominant as the Andrea Pirlo show was last summer, but it's yet more evidence that when it comes to building play from the back, England look second best - a distant one at that.
20.22: From OptaPaolo:
8 - Italy attempted eight shots in the first half vs England, none of which on target. Waste. #U21Euro
20.19: England will be more pleased with the scoreline but they have rode their luck at times especially with that very strong Italy penalty claim against Robinson.
Nevertheless, Stuart Pearce's side have kept some sort of attacking threat and it's now been over 14 hours since they last conceded at this level.
Half-time: England 0-0 Italy
43min: Italy are ending the half the much more dangerous side, but it's the England fans who are doing all the singing, with 'Football's Coming Home' being chanted from inside the ground. Maybe a little inaccurate on this evidence but if they are taking requests, how about some 'World In Motion'?
40min: England are very fortunate not to concede a penalty. Jack Robinson's trailing leg with the slide tackle gets none of the ball inside the box and nearly all of Alessandro Florenzi but play is waved on.
I can only assume the referee had too many bodies in the way to see it clearly, but his assistant near the incident should have had a clear view. Either way it's a very lucky escape for England.
38min: Italy have had the chances but England have had their moments. Wickham holds up the ball well to release Redmond down the middle, with the Birmingham starlet skipping past Luca Caldirola before blasting over the bar from 20 yards.
36min: From Sportsmail's Dominic King at the Bloomfield Stadium:
'Italy have settled the better here; been particularly impressed with Lorenzo Insigne so far. He causes problems whenever he gets ball.'
33min: Wickham's been in the wars during this first half and now the Sunderland striker appears to be limping following a challenge from Luca Marrone. He's carrying on for now but one to keep an eye on.
30min: Good effort from the young lions. Sordell's attempted cross cannons back to Jason Lowe 25 yards out, before the 21-year-old takes a touch and forces Bardi to tip behind at his near post. Despite the Italian's slight touch, a goal kick is given.
27min: England seem to have relaxed after that early Italy barrage and are starting to pass the ball around with confidence. Wickham looks very isolated up front though and the Italians are defending very comfortably.
24min: Excellent play from Italy, and this time Butland comes to England's aid. A headed pass into the box sees Insigne go one-on-one with the keeper, but the Stoke stopper is quick off his line to force the attacker into clipping his effort on to the roof of the net.
21min: A 'what if' moment for England as Redmond appears to play through Shelvey with a headed pass, only for the midfielder to make a complete mess of his first touch and concede a goal kick.
At the other end, Insigne volleys wide of Butland's near post following a far post cross.
19min: Slightly better from England as some smart build up play from Shelvey finds Marvin Sordell on the edge of the box, but the striker's chipped through ball into the penalty area fails to find Wickham.
16min: More Italy pressure as Lorenzo Insigne fires wide from distance. England need some time on the ball here - they are chasing shadows.
13min: Italy are starting to dominate the game now but England nearly hand them the lead on a plate. Nathaniel Clyne's header back completely catches out Butland as he races off his goal line, but the Southampton defender manages to chase back in front of an Italy striker to clear the ball for a corner.
10min: Moments after Connor Wickham forces a comfortable save from Bardi, Italy go close to opening the scoring. Ciro Immobile leaves Craig Dawson behind for pace but his shot across goal flies just wide of Jack Butland's far post.
8min: Corner for Italy which Marco Verratti takes, but his lofted ball to the edge of the box results in Fabio Borini volleying at thin air as the ball bounces to safely. To be fair to the Liverpool forward, that would have been some goal had he hit the target from there.
6min: England have started the better team here as Redmond sees a shot blocked on the edge of the box. No real chances as yet but there is little evidence to suggest Italy are the superior squad.
3min: Very ambitious from Shelvey but that's as kind as I can be to the Liverpool midfielder whose attempted volley from 45 yards fails to get anywhere near Francesco Bardi's target in the Italy goal.
2min: Positive start for England as Jonjo Shelvey wins a free-kick in the Italy half after trying to lead a counter attack. But his free-kick to Nathan Redmond results in the winger running the ball out for a goal kick.
Kick-off: A loud cheer as Italy get us going.
'Music starts, fans clap, teams emerge: almost time for #ENGU21s to begin their quest to win #EURO2013 but a big test beckons against Italy.'
19.27: Both anthems are observed and sung by the players - with the Italians especially putting a lot of passion into it. While the stadium is not full, there are a fair few inside the ground.
19.24: The players are out on the pitch, Italy are the favourites tonight and their squad look fired up as they line up before the national anthems are played.
19.20: England boss Stuart Pearce spoke to Sky Sports before the game:
'The form coming into the tournament should give the squad plenty of pride and promise to build on. We've had a fantastic two weeks preparation and we are ready.
'Injuries to Zaha and Lansbury gives other players the chance to play and if they play well enough they will stay in the team.
'Nathan Redmond makes his debut but from what I have seen he has been outstanding in training and deserves to be on the pitch.'
19.17: It's just as well the games are being played in the evening because the heat has been sweltering in Israel with daytime temperatures hitting 40 degrees.
Although England will play under floodlights tonight, their next two group games will kick off at 5pm. Ball retention will be more critical than usual - these are not the conditions you want to be chasing down possession.
5 - Italia have won five times U21 European Champ. ('92-'94-'96-'00-'04), more than any other team in this competition.
19.09: You have seen the fixtures and stadiums, now here is all you need to know about the Under 21 Championship in Israel as Paul Collins gives you the lowdown.
43 - Number of goals in the top five leagues scored this season by members of Italy's current U21 squad (England U21s: 10). Experience.
19.03: In fact the last time England scored against Italy was in this tournament six years ago, when Leroy Lita's 26th minute strike gave them a 2-0 lead in the group stage before the Italians hit back to rescue a 2-2 draw.
19.00: This isn't a particularly fancy fixture for England though. They have won just four of their 15 encounters with the Azzurrini with the most recent encounter, a friendly two years ago in Empoli, ending in a 1-0 defeat.
18.55: It's full time at Netanya and it indeed finishes Israel 2-2 Norway. A small boost for England and Italy who can take control of the group with three points tonight.
18.52: Dramatic scenes at Netanya as Norway have scored in the second of four added minutes to draw level at 2-2 with Israel.
It's a beauty too as Harmeet Singh drills low across the box from 20 yards to probably snatch a point for the 10 men of Norway.
18.51: Most of the England names should be familiar to you, but Italy also have a couple of star players in their ranks, despite the full national team poaching a few for their matches this week.
Fabio Borini has struggled at Liverpool but will be one to watch tonight, while Paris Saint-Germain's Marco Verratti also features.
18.46: While the tournament is still young, why not check out our guide to the Championship by clicking here to see all the fixtures and venues over the next fortnight. Check out that trophy too, it needs a polish but it looks great.
18.41: Full lineups from the Bloomfield Stadium:
England U21 v Italy U21England U21: Butland, Clyne, Dawson, Caulker, Robinson, Henderson, Lowe, Redmond, Shelvey, Sordell, Wickham. Subs: Steele, Smith, Wisdom, Lees, Chalobah, McEachran, Zaha, Lansbury, Delfouneso, Rudd.
Italy U21: Bardi, Donati, Bianchetti, Caldirola, Biraghi, Florenzi, Marrone, Verratti, Insigne, Borini, Immobile. Subs: Colombi, Capuano, Gabbiadini, Destro, Sansone, Bertolacci, Paloschi, Saponara, Regini, Rossi, Crimi, Leali.
Referee: Antony Gautier (France)
18.36: ....and with 19 minutes it's now 2-1 to Israel after Alon Turgeman pounced inside the area to blast home a volley.
18.34: While it's the opening day, it's not the opening game. In the other Group A clash, Israel are taking on Norway in Netanya right now with the scores locked at 1-1 with 20 minutes left.
Noway hit back after the hosts took the lead through a penalty, but shortly before half-time were reduced to 10 men following professional foul. It's been an even second half despite the numerical distance.
18.33: Wilfried Zaha will be on the bench for Pearce's team, but his ankle injury means he is very unlikely to come on. Henri Lansbury's groin strain has effectively ruled him out.
18.30: England Under 21 starting XI:
Butland, Clyne, Caulker, Dawson, Robinson, Henderson, Lowe, Shelvey, Redmond, Sordell, Wickham.
18.25: Thought England v Brazil was the closing curtain on the football season? Think again.
In fact it's only just the beginning as far as the European Under 21 Championship is concerned, as Stuart Pearce's England open up their campaign in Israel against Italy.
It's the opening day of the tournament - here's hoping our young lions can fly the flag with pride and maybe even bring back a trophy with them.
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