Lee Carsley confident England Under-21s can take ‘biggest step'

North Wales Chronicle

2 days ago

Two years on from winning the competition for the first time since 1984, the Young Lions are preparing for another final having narrowly avoided a shock group stage exit.
Slovenia's defeat of the Czech Republic meant England edged through as Group B runners-up despite losing 2-1 to much-changed Germany, who they will face again in Saturday's Bratislava showpiece.
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Carsley's side have kicked on since then, with a 3-1 quarter-final win against favorites Spain followed by Wednesday's impressive 2-1 semi-final triumph against the Netherlands.
'One more step, which is the biggest step,' the Under-21s boss told BBC Radio 5 Live.
'But we've got that experience, we've done it before, so hopefully we can play with a lot of respect for opponents but try and impose our gameplan on them.
'We all set out with one objective, and that was to try and win it again.
'It's obviously easier said than done, but I wanted the lads to have the confidence and belief that we could do that.
'We tried to leave all of the hope at St George's (Park) and come out here with belief and I think that the players have got a great spirit about them.
'I think they really are together, they're committed to what they're trying to do and I'm very lucky as a coach, along with the rest of the staff, to work with these players.'
England overcame tough opposition and stifling heat in Slovakia to reach a second successive Euro Under-21s final.
Harvey Elliott smashed them ahead and, having been rocked by Noah Ohio levelling from distance, the Liverpool midfielder slalomed through to spectacularly seal a 2-1 semi-final triumph.
The match-winning moment 🤌#YoungLions | #U21EURO pic.twitter.com/awg0VesmoW
— England (@England) June 26, 2025
'You forget the age of this team,' Carsley said. 'Very young, had a setback but went again. I thought they played with such maturity, they've got great team spirit.
'The most important thing now is, like we said after the Spain game, this can't be our highlight. We have to make sure that now we try and get the job done.'
England played with a swagger, much like they did in Georgia two years ago, as Carsley seeks to follow Dave Sexton in masterminding a second Under-21 Euros triumph.
'We try and put them in positions, try and give them some basic direction on what we're looking from them, and then they take on board where the space is,' the former senior England interim boss said.
'I want them to be different. We have to play different, we have to be expansive, we have to be exciting, we have to be creative, and I think we're going in the right direction.'
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England's progress is made all the most impressive by the fact they are without some key players due to the Club World Cup, with Liam Delap and Jobe Bellingham among those unavailable after summer switches.
'We were fully aware of what the situations were going to be, so we were able to pivot and adjust quite quickly,' Carsley added.
'We haven't mentioned who's not here. What we've tried to do is make sure that the players who are here feel special and feel wanted, and I'm sure they do.'