THIS Thursday evening, Lee Carsley’s England Under 21 side begin their Euro 2023 campaign in Batumi, Georgia, hoping to ultimately win the tournament for the first time in 39 years.

First up is the Czech Republic, in a game the Three Lions must realistically win given their other group opponents are the reigning champions Germany, and an Israel collective who are one of the competition’s dark horses.

The future looks exceedingly bright for Israeli football, reaching the semi-final of the U-20 World Cup earlier this month and three of that party have been called up to Guy Luzon’s squad, their confidence sky-high.

Germany meanwhile are Germany, we know exactly what to expect, only this time they are ignited up front by Borussia Dortmund’s Youssoufa Moukoko, an 18-year-old with the world at his feet.

Even so, it’s hard to resist 8/1 for Israel to pull off an early shock and beat Germany in their opening game

Carsley therefore could have wished for an easier trio of opponents while history too is a factor.

Granted, previous disappointments involved completely different players, in different circumstances, but England have failed to progress past the group stage in five of their last six attempts.

On this occasion however their chances are much improved, because even if the Three Lions have the youngest squad of the six main contenders it contains plenty of experience and, crucially, there’s a wealth of genuine talent on show.

At the back, Taylor Harwood-Bellis and Levi Colwill both enjoyed exceptional seasons, the former a pivotal figure in Burnley’s revolution, the latter a key component in Brighton’s remarkable rise. Colwill won 2.6 aerial duels per 90 in 2022/23 and maintained an 88.6 pass completion rate as Roberto De Zerbi’s men finished an unprecedented sixth. Indeed, so highly is he regarded that his parent club Chelsea have already rebuffed a £30m-plus offer from the Seagulls to make his loan move permanent.

In midfield, three from Harvey Elliott, Oliver Skipp, Curtis Jones and Jacob Ramsey will feature prominently, Ramsey standing out as the player in form. The 22-year-old has been unlocked by Unai Emery since the Spaniard arrived at Aston Villa, contributing nine goal involvements in his last 12 outings.

Up front, it will be interesting to see if Carsley goes with an out-and-out centre-forward in Cameron Archer or deploys a front three of Morgan Gibbs-White, Anthony Gordon and Noni Madueke. Either way, set up as a 4-3-3 there are goals in this England side. Archer fired eight in his last 10 starts for Middlesbrough while Gibbs-White’s six goal involvements in his last seven for Nottingham Forest helped stave off relegation.

All told, Carsley’s young charges have 748 Premier League appearances to their name. Two have league winners medals. Three have won the FA Cup.

Archer is 13/10 to notch against Czech Republic this Thursday

When assessing this strong group though a slight concern emerges, primarily from their five friendlies dating back to September, all of which acted as warm-ups to this tournament.

Late last year Italy were impressively dispensed with before Germany were overcome 3-1, a highly pertinent victory with Sunday’s clash in mind. Best of all, this Spring, France were routed 4-0, with Emile Smith-Rowe scoring after a long injury lay-off and Madueke starring in a 25-minute cameo.

This result alone is reason enough to be optimistic about England’s chances in Romania and Georgia.

Yet their two most recent friendlies brought a frustrating home loss to Croatia and a 0-2 reverse to Japan – the latter played behind closed doors a fortnight ago – and what is notable is that Carsley experimented in both fixtures, turning to the periphery of his squad. This suggests that an injury or two picked up throughout the competition could cost the Three Lions very dear.

Mention of Croatia brings us to one of football’s most enduring cliches, that no matter the level, they are always dark horses, but in truth this is not a tournament that historically favours outsiders, with only Sweden in 2015 breaking up a Holland, Germany and Spain stranglehold over the last two decades.

And again, these three have to be fancied, with Spain especially strong and rightfully cast as favourites.

A bet builder backing over 2.5 goals in Spain v Romania, no to BTTS, offers up 13/4

In Gabri Veiga, they possess a potential player of the tournament, Celta Vigo’s number 8 being one of only two midfielders in the competition who bagged 10-plus goals last term. There’s a clear reason why Liverpool and Chelsea have been chasing his signature so hard this summer. It’s because he’s brilliant.

They have a favourable group too, one they will very likely top.

Elsewhere, Portugal are really good value at nines, the Esperancas out-scoring everybody in qualifying by averaging 4.1 goals-per-game. Wolves’ Fabio Silva and Pedro Neto will be familiar to Premier League audiences while at the back they don’t concede many.

But, all things considered, it is France who simply cannot be overlooked, their team sprinkled with elite quality who have excelled this past year.

Les Bleus are 5/1 to win only their second Under-21 championships

In midfield, Enzo Le Fee has been a revelation for Lorient, averaging 1.9 key passes per 90 and generally running the shows. Further forward, they have Khephren Thuram whose quick and intelligent movement always makes him a genuine threat.

Most convincingly of all, they have the Rennes duo of Amine Gouiri and Arnaud Kalimuendo who between them scored 22 in Ligue 1.

Gouiri is a good shout to finish top goalscorer but Kalimuendo is the cleverer of the two, inhabiting half-spaces before timing his runs to good effect.

France have the game-changers, the difference-makers. It’s theirs if they really want it.

Gouiri is joint-favourite to finish top goalscorer, but is still decent value at 9/1