Can England's under-21s champions make seniors just as fearless?
The head coach floated the idea before the tournament, unofficially setting himself a target of surpassing Dave Sexton's achievements from 1982 and 1984, but Carsley is eyeing something more meaningful than a record: an era of domination.
'That's us getting off to a great start,' he said referring to chasing three in a row, after a 3-2 extra-time victory over Germany in the final on Saturday added to their 2023 triumph. 'Spain, Italy, Germany and the Netherlands have done it [dominated]. We have to make sure that we're there or thereabouts. Winning one tournament is great but it's the dominating bit that we want to get better at.'
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The Independent
an hour ago
- The Independent
Maro Itoje issues rallying cry to Lions ahead of second Test: ‘Not all games are equal'
Maro Itoje has warned the British and Irish Lions not to take the Wallabies lightly as they bid to 'do something special' in the second Test in Melbourne. The Lions are hoping to seal the series at the MCG on Saturday after beating Australia rugby in Brisbane last weekend to take a 1-0 lead after an excellent first-half performance. They are strong favourites to win in Melbourne and win the quadrennial affair with a game to spare, though are bracing for a Wallabies backlash after a slow start from Joe Schmidt 's side a week ago. The return of Will Skelton, a former teammate of Itoje's at Saracens, and Rob Valetini are significant boosts for the home side as they bid to match the Lions physically. A crowd of 90,000 or more is expected at the MCG and Itoje believes his side have to be ready for both their opposition and the occasion. 'When you wear this jersey and represent the Lions you know it comes with huge honour and a sense of responsibility, and we know we are not playing a pub team.' Itoje emphasised. 'The Wallabies are a proper team, I played them last year in the autumn [with England] and we lost to them when we were supposed to win. They are a team that can punish you if you don't approach the game properly. 'When you spend time in Melbourne and speak to the locals, they hold the MCG in a really special regard. It's a real opportunity and privilege for us to play there in what will be an amazing stadium and crowd. If it reaches full capacity, it'll definitely be the biggest stadium I've played in. It's something we're looking to relish." The Lions were visited this week by Martin Johnson, who presented the Test side with their shirts having led the touring side on two tours. Fellow England lock Itoje has often saved his best for Lions series and World Cup knockout games, with the 30-year-old long established as a big-match performer. While this will be his 32nd start of a long season, the lock is ready to go again and admits that games like this bring another level out of him. 'As a professional athlete, there's always focus to what you do, but not all games are equal,' Itoje explained. 'Not all games mean the same thing. And this game, last week, these games aren't equal to normal games of rugby. They're special. So naturally, there's a higher level of focus. It requires a higher level of intensity and a higher level of diligence to what you want to do. 'I guess these sort of games are almost the reason why you want to play rugby. You want to play rugby and be a part of these huge occasions maybe a little bit of jeopardy on the line, but more so the opportunity to do something special, the opportunity to do something that lives long in the memory, and create special memories with your friends and colleagues and family.'
Telegraph
an hour ago
- Telegraph
England vs Spain: When is it and your ultimate guide to the Women's Euro 2025 final
England are through to the Euro 2025 final after beating Italy 2-1 in extra time. They will have the chance to defend their title as champions of Europe against Spain in Sunday's final. Spain are on the hunt for their first European Championship, having beaten Engalnd to win the World Cup in 2023, in a match overshadowed by the behaviour of Luis Rubiales afterwards. Final details Lionesses' journey to the final Ticket information Latest news Our experts pick their England team to face Spain What date is the Euro 2025 final? Sunday, July 27. The Lionesses have had slightly longer to prepare, given that their semi-final was on Tuesday; Spain's was on Wednesday. What time does it start? The kick-off is scheduled for 5pm BST, or 6pm local time in Switzerland. What TV channel is it on? The final will be shown live on BBC One and simultaneously on ITV1 (as well as their respective digital offerings), with coverage starting from 4pm on both channels. What stadium is it in? Basel's St Jakob-Park, the largest football stadium in Switzerland and home to FC Basel, the Swiss champions. This ground hosted Switzerland against Norway on the opening night of the tournament, with a turnout of 34,063. The capacity is about 37,500. Can I still get tickets? A very limited number of tickets for the final may be available either on the official Uefa ticketing website or the resale website. Initially, tickets were offered for sale at 30, 60 or 90 Swiss francs – the equivalent of £28, £56 or £84. Euro 2025 has now exceeded the record overall attendance levels set at Euro 2022. In that tournament, a total of 574,875 fans visited England's stadiums. This year, the total was 574,117 before England's semi-final. How did the Lionesses get to the final? Group stage France 2 England 1 England 4 Netherlands 0 England 6 Wales 1 England finished second in the so-called 'group of death' with six points. France finished above the Lionesses after winning all three of their matches. Quarter-final Sweden 2 England 2 (England won 3-2 on penalties) Semi-final England 2 Italy 1 (aet) How did England's semi-final play out? What is the prize money? All 16 teams earned £1.6m in qualifying for the Euros, but the maximum prize money a team can win is £4.4m if they win every game. The only team able to win this maximum sum is Spain as Germany and England both lost in the group stages. There is a £1.5m bonus for the winner on top of their winnings from the previous games and the runners-up will take home almost £700,000 for their efforts. The total prize money is £35.5m, which is an increase of 156 per cent on Euro 2022. England manager Sarina Wiegman is 'not for sale', the Football Association has insisted. Wiegman has led the Lionesses to a third successive major tournament final and has the chance to do what no England manager has done before by winning a trophy on foreign soil. She is contracted with the FA until the end of the 2027 World Cup and, while her future beyond that tournament is uncertain, the governing body's chief executive Mark Bullingham is adamant she is not going anywhere before then. 'We are committed to her until 2027 and she is committed to us,' Bullingham said. 'We have a new [coaching] team coming in for her. We haven't quite started working on the plans for [post] 2027 but I know her focus, hopefully after success on Sunday, will shift quite quickly to 2027.' Asked how much it would take to prise Wiegman away from England, Bullingham replied: 'She's not for sale. No price at all.' Bullingham added that it is unlikely any manager will ever be able to repeat Wiegman's achievements. Sunday's match in Basel will be Wiegman's fifth successive final, having reached two with Netherlands before she joined England in 2021. 'When I spoke before the tournament I said we were lucky to have her and I still feel that way,' said Bullingham. 'I think she has been incredible and her record of managing in five tournaments and reaching five finals is phenomenal. I don't believe anyone has been anywhere near that in the past and I think it will be really hard to do that in the future. She's a really special coach and we're delighted to have her with us.' Our experts pick their England team to face Spain Who should Sarina Wiegman pick in her starting XI for the match in Basel? This is the team that lined up for the semi-final against Italy: There is likely to be at least one injury-enforced change after Lauren James was replaced at half-time because of an ankle injury. Our experts have there say on whether Wiegman should stick or twist for the final, with changes highlighted with a red shirt... As much as I am tempted to change formation and personnel, the final will be a completely different game to the last two England have played. England will need maximum concentration for 90 minutes against Spain and suddenly switching to a more unfamiliar 3-5-2 would not be advisable. You then need to have players off the bench who can make a difference and Chloe Kelly and Michelle Agyemang are undoubtedly their trump cards. You do not want to show them too early, but Wiegman cannot afford to wait as long as she did against Italy to throw them on. The defence will remain the weak point but there is little Wiegman can do to change it now. She will have to persist with the same back four, with the possibility of switching to three at the back if they need a goal. Something has to change in either personnel or formation if England are going to retain their Euros crown. They have stumbled their way through both the quarter-final and semi-final, somehow winning both games when they have been seconds away from defeat. In short, England have not played well and have survived on guts and instincts alone. I would switch to 3-5-2, with a back three of Alex Greenwood, Leah Williamson and Esme Morgan. You could then play Lauren Hemp as left wing-back and Lucy Bronze on the other side. Hemp has the tenacity and physicality of a full-back. That would give you five players in midfield, which should lessen the risks of that area being over run. The injury to Lauren James, who was taken off at half-time against Italy, makes this formation even more appealing. Up top, Michelle Agyemang surely has to start alongside Alessia Russo. The 19-year-old has scored three goals in four games for England and has troubled every defence she has played against. Stubborn Sarina will stick to her selection guns so the spine of the team is largely the same. Esme Morgan performed well under considerable pressure against Italy and maintains her place because Jess Carter's lack of pace remains an issue, although it is not an isolated problem. The Lionesses' defence has been carved open far too easily in this tournament and in the white heat of a final they might not have so many get-out-of-jail-free cards. I have thrown on Grace Clinton for Keira Walsh; Walsh has not had the same impact as in 2022 because teams have figured her out, while Cinton is something of an unknown quantity for opposition. Doubts over Lauren James' fitness means Beth Mead starts, while Chloe Kelly and Michelle Agyemang retain their status as super subs – but must be introduced sooner. It is well known that Sarina Wiegman likes to stick to what she knows and given the injury to Lauren James it is unlikely she will want to risk changing things up too much for the final. Although the temptation would be to start Michelle Agyemang and Chloe Kelly given their contributions in the semi-final, they are best suited to being impact players off the bench although Wiegman may choose to put them on earlier rather than later. I would start Beth Mead given James' likely absence. Given Jess Carter's performance against Sweden, it is hard to see her earning a starting place back against Spain or Germany. Sarina Wiegman's line-ups have not been the problem but rather how the players have been utilised. The back-line needs to be more organised and attacking players need to catch their opponents on counter-attacks. I would leave the back-line unchanged, allowing Esme Morgan to acclimatise to her role in the 4-3-3 formation; her performance against Italy showed promise. Lucy Bronze has been outstanding in this tournament, so I would not want to move her forward. It is Michelle Agyemang's time to step up as a starter, with questions over Lauren James' fitness. After saving her team twice in the knock-out stages, Agyemang will be confident and is exactly the kind of player that can utilise Alessia Russo's tireless delivery into the box.
The Independent
2 hours ago
- The Independent
Steve Smith says England have ditched promise to be Test cricket's entertainers before Ashes
Steve Smith has suggested England have left behind their promise to be 'entertainers' and adopted a more pragmatic approach ahead of the Ashes later this year. England are aiming to regain the urn for the first time since 2015 when they travel to Australia in November, having won only one series down under since 1987. The team has transformed its approach under the leadership of coach Brendon McCullum and captain Ben Stokes, adopting the gung-ho approach dubbed Bazball in which they prioritised thrilling cricket over results. But Smith believes England have changed tack during the current Test series with India. 'They have started to play a little bit differently in the last couple of weeks in terms of playing the situation, as opposed to going out and trying to be the entertainers that they said they wanted to be,' the former Australia captain told BBC Sport. 'They are actually trying to win the games now which is perhaps different to what was said in their comments previously.' Smith, who is representing Welsh Fire in this year's Hundred, also warned that England's big-scoring batters should expect a far harder challenge when they reach Australia. 'Their batters are going to be challenged a little bit differently to the wickets they have had over in England for a while, which have looked pretty flat and good for batting,' he said. 'The wickets in Australia in the last three or four years have been very tricky for top order batters. It is going to be a good challenge for them. 'But it's going to be a wonderful series. I have been watching the India and England series and there has been some great cricket played there, so I think the Ashes this year is going to be an absolute belter.' The first Ashes Test begins in Perth on 21 November.
