Lee Carsley's England U21s involved in furious brawl with Spain

Irish Daily Mirror

22-06-2025

England's young stars were embroiled in a heated brawl following their 3-1 victory over Spain at the Under-21 European Championship. The full-time whistle saw tensions escalate as Charlie Cresswell, defender for the Young Lions, and his team-mates found themselves confronted by the Spanish players.
The cause of the Spanish players' anger remains unclear, but Cresswell appeared to be the main focus of their wrath. Nearly all outfield players were drawn into the fracas, with some needing to be separated by staff and officials.
Despite this, Spain's players continued to confront Cresswell, who was equally incensed with his opponents. Substitutes and coaching staff from both sides joined the fray, leaving the referee struggling to maintain control.
Ashley Cole, former England and Chelsea defender and current assistant manager to head coach Lee Carsley, insisted that the players retreat to the dressing room to avoid further trouble.
Following a heated exchange with Spanish defender Cristhian Mosquera, Cresswell was eventually escorted away. Even as England's coaching staff shielded the Toulouse star from further confrontation, other players could still be seen arguing, reports the Express.
Liverpool midfielder Tyler Morton then appeared to confront a member of the Spanish entourage. However, he was swiftly led away by Carsley as the situation finally began to deescalate.
Harvey Elliott spoke to Channel 4 about the heated match, stating: "It was always going to happen because of the passion from both teams. It is one of those where I was trying to calm everyone down. End of the day, we have got everything to lose. They don't, they can get players sent off. We can't lose players for the semi-final."
Carsley's decision to ditch a much-debated striker-less system paid off as England put in their most impressive performance yet, with Jay Stansfield playing a crucial role at No. 9.
England surged ahead with goals from James McAtee and Elliott, despite an earlier scare when VAR ruled out a penalty awarded to Spain, which Cresswell had been involved in.
Javier Guerra converted a spot-kick to make it 2-1 but a professional display by England saw them limit their opponents to very few chances.Nottingham Forest'sElliot Anderson scored a penalty in added-time.
Elliott expressed his exhilaration post-match, saying: "It's incredible. I am lost for words. We knew it was going to be very tough. The were going to play an incredible game against us. But the way the lads handled the pressure even after conceding the goal, we deserved it so much. It's time to celebrate but we need to start thinking of the semi-finals tonight.
"There was a major difference form start to finish. We were compact. We were a team. We fought together. We didn't give up. We trusted in our ability. The football was just incredible. We need to take a lot of things from this game to the next."