England's three standout players at the Under-21 Euros so far

New York Times

a day ago

England have reached their second consecutive Under-21 European Championship final, and will face Germany on Saturday's showpiece in an attempt to defend the title they won in 2023.
England's path to the final in Slovakia hasn't been as smooth as it was two years ago in Romania, where they went through the entire tournament without conceding a single goal. Nevertheless, Lee Carsley's side now have the opportunity to emulate the achievements of 1982 and 1984 by winning back-to-back Under-21 Euros titles — and to secure a fourth overall.
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On the latest episode of 'The Totally Football Show', Daniel Storey identified the three standout players for England during the tournament and what victory would mean for Carsley.
A partial transcript has been edited for clarity and length. The full episode is available on 'The Totally Football Show' feed on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.
James Richardson: This Saturday is the Under-21 Euros final between England and Germany. England beat the Netherlands 2-1 on Wednesday, where Harvey Elliott starred with both of England's goals. It was punctuated by a singular strike from the Netherlands featuring the remarkably named Noah Ohio, who himself is a former England junior international. He spotted England goalkeeper James Beadle off his line and caught him out from about 40 yards. What did you make of it, Daniel?
Daniel Storey: It's an amazing finish. It's one of those finishes that looks good in real time, and then when you see the replay from behind the goal to an extent it's hit and hope, but the arc of the ball to get beyond Beadle's glove and inside the post is unfathomably good. I also really liked his celebration, it's funny when an excellent footballer looks surprised at how good the thing they've just done is, that was very much one of these.
We should say it was also completely against the run of the play for most of the game. Lee Carsley said after the group stage that England would grow into the tournament, because they were patchy and found things a bit difficult early on, which was probably because they'd lost some fairly significant players. Not least Liam Delap, who would have been the first-choice striker in the team. But they are growing into this tournament. They were dominant against the Netherlands and they deserved to win by more goals.
The first of the three standout players was Harvey Elliott. He took both goals with monumental composure, and he's going to have to get a move this summer.
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James: Better than he took the knee slide after the first goal?
Daniel: Yeah he spoke after the game about a slight injury to his knee after it, but I think he was doing it in a more jokey, 'Oh my God, I can't believe I did that,' sort of way. Rather than 'I'm going to miss the final,' because that would be a nightmare scenario for England. But Elliott looked a cut above. He's one of two players with Charlie Cresswell who have been to an Under-21 Euros before, and you can tell that by the way he's carrying himself about the place and leading the team. He needs a move this summer, and he needs to go to another Premier League club — probably for quite a lot of money.
The second player that stood out was Omari Hutchinson, who has been outstanding on the wing for the Under-21s. He could also do with a move this summer because he shouldn't be playing Championship football next season. Then Elliot Anderson is the other one. He was the kind of player who everybody who was at the game was saying, 'Harvey Elliott scored the goals, but Elliot Anderson was making the team tick and he was leading it.' He will be, and he has to be in an England squad at some point because Jordan Henderson might have the experience, but he doesn't have the ability anymore to dictate play, to break up play, to be where the team needs him to be, and to be that deepest line midfielder — even though he's not a holding midfielder. And Anderson has been one of the players of the tournament so far.
Tyler Morton's also back for the final after his suspension, so there's a really difficult conundrum for Carsley because Alex Scott, who was playing next to Anderson, was great too. So there's a real competition for places. But Germany are the favourites for the tournament. They beat England in the group in the third game having changed pretty much all of their team, and England had their full-strength team out there. So there was a huge psychological marker laid down there.
But Carsley has just got something with this squad. It's the second tournament in a row that England have got to the final, and the last time they did that was back in the mid-1980s. It also completely vindicates Carsley's decision to go back to the Under-21s, and if they win in the final on Saturday then he will be immediately installed as the favourite to replace Thomas Tuchel after 2026, because everything he touches seems to be working.
You can listen to full episodes of The Totally Football Show for free on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.
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