Why is Under-21 Euros 2023 not on TV? How to watch England U21 vs Portugal U21

England's progress in the Under-21 European championship is not being shown live by any UK broadcaster.

The Young Lions began with a 2-0 win over Czech Republic, courtesy of goals from Jacob Ramsey and Emile Smith Rowe, before replicating the scoreline against Israel. The two victories mean England have already booked their place in the quarter-finals with a game to spare and made it three from three with another 2-0 win over Germany on Wednesday.

Manager Lee Carsley has assembled a squad that includes Arsenal’s Emile Smith Rowe, Aston Villa midfielder Jacob Ramsey, Newcastle forward Anthony Gordon and Chelsea duo Levi Colwill and Noni Madueke. However, England fans have been forced to hunt around in order to follow their progress.

The tournament was not picked up by a UK broadcaster, with all of England’s games at the tournament being shown on UEFA’s website. Sky Sports showed the tournament in 2021 as England crashed out in the group stage and opted against bidding for the rights this time around, according to the Daily Mail.

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The BBC showed England’s qualification games last summer via the red button and broadcast two U21 friendlies with Croatia and France as recently as March. However, the broadcaster also reportedly passed up the opportunity to televise the tournament.

The Daily claim that The FA requested the opportunity to show the matches as free-to-air on the England team YouTube channel, which possesses 2.26million subscribers. However, UEFA are said to have rejected the proposal in order to broadcast the matches live on UEFA TV, which requires fans to register an account for access to the free streaming service.

England U21s play their quarter-final