England Under-21s take the bus from their team hotel to the stadium... travelling just 20 yards

Uefa rules mean all teams must travel by bus, no matter how close

(Getty Images)

Uefa rules stipulate that all teams participating in the European Under-21 Championships must travel to games in their Uefa-supplied bus – not matter how close they are in the first place.

For Gareth Southgate’s Under-21s today ahead of their game against Sweden in Olomouc, that meant a journey that took just 30 seconds – their hotel, the NH Olomouc Collection is next to the Andruv Stadium.

As top seeds in their group, England were given first choice on their Olomouc hotel and picked the NH as the city’s best hotel and because of its proximity to the stadium and training ground. They will also play their third group B against Italy at the Andruv - also referred to as the Ander - Stadium on Wednesday.

Southgate and his players all boarded the Uefa bus as per Uefa protocol and got off less than a minute later, although not before the Sweden bus had nipped in before them. The team’s head of security decided he could walk the 20 yards to the players’ entrance rather than travel on the bus.

All players and staff arrived safely.

Southgate decided to make two changes for the game second group game against Sweden, following their 1-0 defeat to Portugal on Thursday; Derby's Will Hughes replaced James Ward-Prowse of Southampton in centre-midfield, with Tottenham's Alex Pritchard in for Manchester United's Jesse Lingard on the wing.