10-man England defeated at the death by France

A 95th-minute Aaron Wan-Bissaka own goal consigned Aidy Boothroyd’s England side to a 2-1 defeat against France in their UEFA Euro U-21 Group C opener at the Stadio Dino Manuzzi.

England, in a group also containing Croatia and Romania, took the lead through Phil Foden, who slalomed his way through five France players before sliding the ball past Paul Bernardoni with 54 minutes gone.

However, the Young Lions were reduced to 10 men just past the hour mark after the Leicester midfielder Hamza Choudhury scythed down Jonathan Bamba inside the box. Choudhury was originally handed a yellow card for the challenge but after consultation with VAR, referee Srdjan Jovanovic upgraded the sanction to a straight red.

After Moussa Dembele had seen a first-half penalty saved by Dean Henderson, Houssem Aouar assumed responsibility from 12 yards but his effort rattled the framework.

However, Les Bleus pressed home their numerical advantage and prised an equaliser from a resolute English defence with just one minute of regulation time remaining, with Nanitamo Ikone wrong-footing Henderson.

And just as it looked Boothroyd’s men would hold on for a hard-earned point, Wan-Bissaka contrived to put through his own net at a set-piece situation to hand Sylvain Ripoll's side the three points.

Romania beat Croatia 4-1 in the earlier game to leave England with a proverbial mountain to climb with only one team guaranteed progression from the groups.