Sweden 0-1 England: Late Jesse Lingard strike rescues Gareth Southgate's side ahead of crunch finale against Italy

A late strike from Manchester United midfielder Jesse Lingard kept England's hopes of qualifying for the knock out stages of the Under-21 European Championships alive in a narrow 1-0 win over Sweden.

Harry Kane and Carl Jenkinson passed up golden opportunities for Gareth Southgate's side who struggled to break down the stubborn Swedes.

But an 85<sup>th minute volley from Lingard was enough to secure the win for the Three Lions, who registered their first points of the competition following their defeat to Portugal last week.

Opportunities for both sides came at a premium in a tight first half but Kane was presented with the best opening, breaking into space inside the six yard area to get onto the end of Jenkinson's cross.

The Tottenham Hotspur striker could only power a header wide of goal, however.

Danny Ings, who will become a Liverpool player on 1 July, was brought on for the second half to provide England with a greater cutting edge and looked to have breached the Swedish backline minutes after coming on, only to be spurned by Filip Helander at the last minute.

Alex Pritchard was taken off after picking up a knock on 55 minutes, paving the way for Lingard's introduction. As the game looked to be heading to a dour stalemate, the United midfielder latched onto a corner poorly cleared by Sweden goalkeeper Patrick Carlgren, controlling the ball beautifully before slamming home an excellent volley.

Group B remains extremely tight with a game remaining with Portugal, England and Sweden all on three points. England meet bottom side Italy in their last game on Wednesday.