Far from the public gaze, England Under-21s are drawing closer to a place in history. Thirty-nine years have passed since they last won a major continental tournament, performances rarely matching levels of hype in the process. But there is plenty about Lee Carsley’s team that feels different and, should they defeat Portugal in Sunday’s quarter-final, they will have stated a formidable case as potential champions.
“Why can’t we win it?” Carsley had asked before the European Under-21 Championship began last month. Reasons appeared plentiful: England were eliminated at the group stage in five of the previous six editions, lacking cohesion despite fielding sides of admirable pedigree; rivals such as France and a seemingly unbeatable Spain looked likely to dominate at the outset; a summer spent in Georgia, co-hosts with Romania, threatened stifling heat; and there was the loss of their centre-forward, Folarin Balogun, to the United States’ senior setup in the competition’s run-up.
For all those misgivings, England are yet to miss a beat. They sailed through Group C with three wins, keeping three clean sheets, and eliminating the holders, Germany, with a heavily rotated team in their final game.
Onlookers, Gareth Southgate among them, have appreciated a fluid, flexible style of play that has brought the best out of several players who began with much to prove.
Among them is Anthony Gordon, who had a quiet first season after joining Newcastle for £40m but thrived in an unfamiliar central role in the early wins over Czech Republic and Israel. Gordon’s redeployment was one way of compensating for Balogun’s departure and the long-term injury to another key forward, Rhian Brewster. He rewarded Carsley’s faith by converting a textbook striker’s header against Israel; in the same game another player looking to shake off a disappointing domestic campaign, Arsenal’s Emile Smith Rowe, rifled in brilliantly for his second goal in two.
A less high-profile influence has been James Trafford, the Manchester City goalkeeper whose first-team experience has come in League One loan spells with Accrington Stanley and, to much acclaim in 2022-23, Bolton. Trafford is a towering figure at 6ft 6in but has the footwork and distribution to match such a dominant stature; in the 2-0 dismissal of Germany he was decisive at both ends, a quick throw-out setting Harvey Elliott’s marvellous second goal in train before two one-handed saves preserved England’s margin. “He is going to be world-class,” said Cole Palmer, a teammate with City and the national team.
European class would do for now. In front of Trafford, another City player, Taylor Harwood-Bellis, shone as captain alongside Levi Colwill in the first two games. Angel Gomes, who continues to turn heads at Lille, and Morgan Gibbs-White have excelled and look comfortable with Carsley’s demands that his creative players undertake a variety of different roles.
The test posed by Portugal feels particularly meaningful given they beat England 2-0 in the 2021 group stage in Ljubljana and all but eliminated a side overseen by Aidy Boothroyd. This year’s Portuguese vintage are yet to sparkle, losing to Georgia in their opener before drawing with the Netherlands and edging past Belgium with a late penalty, but a lineup including the Wolves pair Pedro Neto and Fábio Silva have the tools to torment once again.
There is a sense that England, while perhaps more understated than some previous groups, have fostered a rare unity under Carsley. “With England teams in the past, they’ve had incredible individuals but struggled to come together,” Gordon said last week. “That’s not an issue with this group.”
They are based in Kobuleti, a seaside town fringed by mountains, and have benefited from short travel times in a tournament curiously split between countries separated by more than 600 miles of water.
The Georgian section has proved especially successful: Ramaz Svanadze’s hosts were cheered on by crowds of more than 40,000 in their final two group games, which they drew with the Netherlands and Belgium, breaking the championship’s all-time attendance record. Georgia is one of Europe’s most interesting hotbeds of talent and a team packed with graduates from a burgeoning Dinamo Tbilisi academy play Israel on Saturday night for the right to play the victors of England’s quarter-final.
Little of this has been easily available to British viewers, who have been obliged to watch matches on Uefa’s online channels after a deal could not be struck between the governing body and broadcasters. Perhaps that will change if England progress to the final in Batumi, scheduled for next Saturday, where France or Spain would presumably lie in wait.
Carsley’s side have operated beneath the radar but are three matches from scaling a peak that has been out of reach for almost four decades.
