Curtis Jones sent off after full-time of England U21s vs Croatia U21s
Curtis Jones sent off after full-time of England Under 21s clash with Croatia U21s following unsavoury mass spat – as Aidy Boothroyd’s side crash out of European Championship despite 2-1 win in final group-stage game
- England Under 21s crashed out of the European Championship on Wednesday
- Despite being Croatia U21s 2-1, the Young Lions needed to win by two goals
- England’s second scorer Curtis Jones was sent off after full-time following a spat
Curtis Jones had an eventful afternoon for England Under 21s as he scored and was later sent off against Croatia U21s in the European Championship.
Despite winning 2-1, England needed to win by two clear goals to progress to the knockout stages at the expense of their opponents.
And as the Croatians celebrated at full-time, their taunts incited Jones who lost his cool with their left back Domagoj Bradaric.
Curtis Jones (right) was sent off after full-time of England Under 21s clash with Croatia U21s
Jones (centre) had to be held back by England U21 backroom staff as he lost his cool
The midfielder was seething after being taunted by Croatia players after being knocked out
Jones’ England team-mates got involved in the fracas – including Rhian Brewster (right)
Jones had to be initially restrained by the England backroom staff before he wrestled away from them and ran towards the celebrating Croatians angrily once more.
The Liverpool midfielder’s actions saw his England team-mates get involved as the scenes at full-time threatened to get ugly.
The 20-year-old’s former Liverpool team-mate Rhian Brewster also had to be dragged away from the incident afterwards.
Bradaric’s taunts would have aggravated Jones further as it was his stoppage-time strike that dumped England U21s out just as they looked to have pulled off a stunning recovery.
Ebere Eze’s early penalty and a second goal from Jones almost booked a last-eight tie with Spain in May.
The Young Lions, who had lost their opening two Group D games, needed to win by two goals and hope Portugal beat Switzerland.
The Portuguese won 3-0 to top Group D but despite a much-improved display, Bradaric’s last-gasp drive sent Croatia through to the quarter-finals at England’s expense.
Jones and Dwight McNeil also hit the woodwork as England nearly completed their against-the-odds victory in Koper, but defeat and an early exit puts further pressure on under-fire Aidy Boothroyd’s position as manager.
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