Lee Carsley has warned Spain that if England Under-21s are at their best in Saturday’s European Championship final it will be a “hell of a performance”, with the coach urging his side to put on a show for the television cameras.
Carsley’s team are yet to concede and he believes Channel 4’s late deal to broadcast the game from Georgia can act as inspiration. It will be the only match televised in the UK from the tournament.
“That it’s being televised is brilliant for the players,” Carsley said. “They’ve played so well and with such freedom it would be great if they could put on a similar performance tomorrow and show the viewers potentially the next [full] internationals and what that team looks like. With it being a final, the last game a lot of these players can play at this level, it’s a big occasion.
“We’ve shown over the last two years [how we can play] – against the Czech Republic, Italy, France, Portugal – and to win [here] was a big thing coming in. We were ranked sixth so to get to the final, to get out of the group to start with, was a good achievement. The team have got maybe two or three levels to go. If they click it’ll be a hell of a performance. The bigger stage means you’ll see a different intensity to the team.”
Carsley wants a side captained by Manchester City’s Taylor Harwood-Bellis and including Newcastle’s Anthony Gordon, Arsenal’s Emile Smith Rowe and Nottingham Forest’s Morgan Gibbs-White to seize the opportunity to join England’s 1982 and 1984 tournament winners.
“It draws a line under their youth development,” he said. “Spain will be a tough team to play against. We’ve watched a lot of them. Since we got into the latter stages, we realised that you get one life. We have to make sure you make the most of the chances you get. Definitely [it’s a closing chapter]. We spoke as a staff that this group, and these four weeks, has felt the most like a club we’ve had in terms of team spirit. The personalities that have developed. It’s a shame in that respect [it will end].
“One of the benefits is that there is another group waiting to come through. I’d like to see this group finish off this campaign with winning it. They deserve it, they work so hard and are so diligent. At some point I expect us to be under pressure. The players have the confidence and understanding that it will happen – I expect them to react in the right way. Recovering from setbacks, they’re very good at this.”
England have made serene progress thanks to an impressive passing game, winning their group with a maximum nine points and scoring six times against Israel, the Czech Republic and Germany. In the quarter-finals Portugal were knocked out 1-0, before Israel were beaten 3-0 in Wednesday’s semi-final. England showed their character against Israel by shrugging off Gibbs-White’s early penalty miss and Carsley indicated the midfielder would take one in the final if required. “Morgan is fine. He scored not long after the penalty and was a really important part of the team. With pens it’s very difficult. We didn’t really look into it much, to be honest. I expect, given the chance to take a penalty, he will.”
Spain are aiming to claim a record sixth Euros and a fourth in 12 years. Carsley is aware of their pedigree. He said: “Spain are a top nation. We respect them a lot. It’s important that we defend well as a team. We’ve got both parts well so far as we’ve attacked through the thirds quite quickly. I don’t see it being any different on Saturday. Spain, along with three or four others, have always been high quality and had exciting individuals. Watching La Liga there is a very similar style at the top. It’s always good to learn and watch good teams play.
“We like the ball, as do Spain. Our main focus today has been out of possession, where we’re in a position to get it back. We won’t have the ball at some points. Watching Spain’s game, I’m expecting a really exciting [final].”
Carsley was asked about a report that he will be offered a new deal. “I’ve not heard that one yet,” he said. “My focus is on the game, making sure we prepare as well as we can. I’ll speak to [the Football Association] after the tournament.”
