England Beat Poland 3-0, Punch Ticket to 2017 European U21 Championship Semis

England defeated Poland 3-0 in Group A of the 2017 European Under-21 Championship on Thursday, as they claimed a place in the last four.

Demarai Gray gave the Three Lions an early lead with a sumptuous strike after just six minutes.

Poland came back in the second half as England displayed signs of nerves, but Gray was the architect as he fed Jacob Murphy for a simple finish.  

Tammy Abraham's tricky run won England a penalty, which resulted in a second yellow card for Jan Bednarek after a clumsy foul with seven minutes remaining.

Lewis Baker tucked away the spot-kick for the third of the night.

PIOTR NOWAK/Getty Images

England took no time at all to express their quality against the host nation as Gray hit the target to open the scoring.

Excellent work by Ben Chilwell was rewarded as his Leicester City team-mate curled his effort home.

Squawka Football highlighted the strike:

The goal fuelled England's motivation and Poland appeared hurt after conceding so early in the match.

Nathan Redmond went close as he threatened, but goalkeeper Jakub Wrabel kept his side within touching distance.

Wrabel made a string of fine saves to frustrate the English attacking unit who were intent on doing serious damage before half-time.

However, the game remained 1-0 at the interval after England missed a host of chances to kill the fixture.

Poland were revitalised in the second half, and England reacted by sinking deeper to protect territory. 

PIOTR NOWAK/Getty Images

The hosts produced a spell of sustained pressure, but England remained resolute, happy to defend their slim lead.

As Poland pushed forward, they left space in behind—allowing England to exploit the gap as they doubled their lead.

Gray sprinted away on he counter-attack and slid the ball across the box to Murphy for a tap-in.

The effort killed Poland's good work, and Abraham became a menace as he consistently attacked the final third.

PIOTR NOWAK/Getty Images

His endeavour was rewarded after 83 minutes as he danced past Bednarek in the box, forcing the Polish player to foul him for a penalty.

Bednarek was given his marching orders for a second yellow, with Poland's chances evaporating.

Baker placed the ball on the spot to emphatically finish, killing the game and Poland's hopes.

The Young Lions roar into the semi-finals after being confirmed as group winners.