Tournament Focus: What We Learnt from the Opening Round of U21 Euros

The surprises just keep on coming in this summer's international action, with the Copa America in Chile proving tighter than anyone would have predicted and the Euro Under-21 Championship now looking set to follow suit.

We take a look at 3 things that we've learnt from the opening round of fixtures in the Czech Republic, along with a player to watch as the group stages continue, starting with the fact that picking a favourite may be more difficult than first imagined.

Germany are by no means the finished article

Heading into the tournament Horst Hrubesch's side were tipped to regain their crown from 2009 having lost out to Spain in the last two editions of the tournament. With La Roja out of the way courtesy of a shock defeat in the play-offs at the hands of Serbia, the Germans were expected to make relatively light work of the same adversary. Serbia have had a change of coach since said play-off and are without a notable handful of star players for the tournament.

Mladen Dodic's side would take the lead early on through Filip Djuriric though, and while Liverpool's Emre Can provided a swift response within 10 minutes the favourites never really clicked. Germany held plenty of possession (58%) but could only find the target with 2 of a modest 12-shot tally. Can was the star for his side, earning a WhoScored.com rating of 7.93 and a place in the team of the round, but elsewhere some were found wanting. Max Meyer (6.20) and captain Moritz Leitner (6.13) were subdued, with Leonardo Bittencourt and Johannes Geis very much waiting in the wings.

Don't write off the underdogs

While Germany disappointed the same could certainly said of Italy, who were runners up in 2013 but showed that they shouldn't be feared by the rest of group B. The Azzurini were favourites going into the game against Sweden so when the Scandinavians were reduced to 10 men following a clumsy challenge by Alexander Milosevic before the half hour mark, most would have expected a rout. Italy's star man Domenico Berardi dispatched the resulting penalty, but the Swedes would rally after the break.

Berardi's penalty would prove to be Italy's only shot on target despite playing with a man advantage for almost an hour, which was testament to their opponent’s defensive resolve. Sweden deserved their equaliser as free agent John Guidetti turned Oscar Lewicki's drilled ball into the box and Hacan Ericson's side clinched it with a late penalty after Juventus' Stefano Sturaro had received his marching orders to level the playing field. The fact that Sweden made just 9 tackles in the game further highlighted their organization, so England and Portugal know not to underestimate the team tipped to finish bottom of the group ahead of tournament.

Experience counts for something

With the competition’s billing always a little misleading, it's perhaps little surprise that of WhoScored's team of the round only Denmark's Pione Sisto (20) was actually under 21 in the literal sense. The entire back five, including Portugal keeper Jose Sa, were actually over 21, with 23-year olds Pavel Kaderabek, who secured a transfer to Hoffenheim this week, and Sporting's William Carvalho proving their quality.

Said duo were joined by five others in the best XI in terms of players who have senior international experience, and Carvalho's performance in particular showed just how valuable that experience can be, as well as why he is thought to have a number of high profile suitors this summer. The central midfielder was dominant in that area of the pitch, earning WhoScored's man of the match award with a rating of 7.94 having won 6 aerial duels, 2 tackles and 4 interceptions from his 86 touches, in what was perhaps the most entertaining and competitive encounter of the round against England.

Player to watch - Pione Sisto

After an underwhelming first half from a Denmark side that had picked up a strong backing ahead of the tournament, Jess Thorup's side eventually and expectedly spoiled the party for the hosts in the opener on Wednesday. Key to their second half revival was the introduction of Pione Sisto, who scored the match winner having replaced Viktor Fischer just before the hour mark.

It was Ajax graduate Fischer who was tipped as the Dane's star man in attack prior to the game but an ineffectual performance saw him garner the lowest rating of all starting players on the day (6.03) and he was rightly replaced after the interval. Sisto did enough to take a place in WhoScored's team of the week after just a 33-minute cameo, scoring from one of 5 shots at goal - Fischer mustered just one in his time on the pitch – and having as many touches as the man he replaced (25) in less than half the playing time. A rating of 7.34 will surely see him start the game against Germany on Saturday and plenty of scouts will be keeping a watchful eye if he does.

Which players do you think stood out in the opening round of fixtures at the Euro U21 Championship? Let us know in the comments below