Carsley stimulates “exceptional” players after young Lions reach the final consecutive euro
The manager Lee Carsley praised his “exceptional” players while England U21 reached a second final of the consecutive European championship.
Harvey Elliott de Liverpool, who was also part of the team of young Lions who lifted the trophy two years ago, marked a stifling temperatures at Bratislava while the Carsley team was ahead of the Netherlands 2-1.
In a rehearsal of the senior male semi-final at last year in Germany, Elliott gave England the advance just after the Hour’s bar before the replacement Noah Ohio rises for the Dutch 10 minutes later.
But where Ollie Watkins was the hero of England 12 months ago, it was the Reds midfielder who stole the show here, with the winner with a good solo effort with five minutes to play.
# U21euro Finalists 🏴❤️ pic.twitter.com/n4zgcfayh1
– England (@england) June 25, 2025
The result means that England is progressing in the final on Saturday, where they will try to defend their crown against France or Germany, to whom they have already faced in the group phase of the tournament.
“I thought the team was exceptional,” Carsley told Channel 4 after the match.
“I thought the way we started the game was really exciting. [the England players] I was disappointed to come at halftime without scoring, but I thought we played with real resilience.
“We had to defend the box and James [Beadle] I had to make good stops. But we got up and we crossed the line. It shows the importance of the whole team. I thought that the submarines who came also had a really impact. We can therefore hope for the final.
Two other goals! 🔥
Well played, Harvey Elliott! 🙌 pic.twitter.com/z6vzqlc0ix
– England (@england) June 25, 2025
The boss of England also praised Elliott, whose experience and performances were fundamental for the success of the team.
“Harvey [Elliott] and Charlie [Cresswell] Did not play a lot of minutes in the last campaign. We knew how important they would be. They took this on board, the responsibility of driving the rest of the team.
“Harvey was exceptional. He is one of the many who really got up. James McATEE, Jay Stansfield – You could go through the team. They develop as a team and team.
“It’s just a shame that we only have one match because I think this team is exceptional.”
With temperatures which amount above 30 degrees Celsius before the kick-off of Carsley also revealed how he had prepared his young starlets at 90 minutes on fire.
“We knew it was going to be hot,” said Carsly. “We did all our training sessions during the hottest game of the day to prepare for this type of event.
“We did not move away from the sun, we exposed them.
Before the final this weekend, which started at 8:00 p.m. (United Kingdom time), Carsley’s prospects were simple: “We try not to worry too much about the opposition. Our team is the most important. ”
