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Lee Carsley is confident that England’s Under-21 side have the belief to make history by winning a second European title in a row after Harvey Elliott’s double against the Netherlands secured a place in Saturday’s final.
A superb piece of improvisation from the substitute Noah Ohio had cancelled out the Liverpool forward’s opener in the second half but it was Elliott who had the final say five minutes before the end to take his tally in this tournament to four goals. Having arrived in Slovakia without several of the players who helped them qualify and one of the youngest squads in the tournament, England now have an opportunity to match the achievements of Dave Sexton’s teams in 1982 and 1984.
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But Carsley, who spent six months as interim manager of the senior England team before returning to his post with the Under-21s when Thomas Tuichel was appointed, insisted that they will not be overawed by the occasion when they face Germany, who beat France 3-0 in the other semi-final.
“We’ve got so much quality,” said Carsley. “But more importantly, we’ve got a squad that believe that they can win. There’s more belief, which is important if we’re going to go that one step more, which is generally the hardest step now – getting over the line. But I’m so proud of them and hopefully everyone has enjoyed watching us during this tournament.”
Elliott, who with Toulouse defender Charlie Cresswell is one of two surviving members of the squad that won in Georgia two years ago, was again outstanding and he confirmed that this group of players has been playing without inhibitions.
“The moment we have fear is the moment that it goes wrong,” Elliott said. “I feel like we can take on any team and we go into every game thinking we can win because we have the players and the squad to do it.” Asked whether this represented one of the best moments of his career, he added: “Emotionally and mentally it’s up there. To be able to put us into another final is a crazy experience.”
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