England Look to Win European Under-21 Championship for the First Time Since 1984
England go into Saturday’s final against Spain looking to win the European Under-21 Championship for the first time since 1984. This is England’s first final since 2009, when they lost 4-0 to Germany. The Young Lions won the third and fourth editions of the tournament in 1982 and 1984, when they beat Spain 3-0 on aggregate, but never again. Lee Carsley’s side have yet to concede a goal in this summer’s tournament in Georgia and Romania.
“These four weeks has felt the most like a club we’ve had it in terms of team spirit, the personalities that have developed,” said Carsley. “It’s a shame in that respect [that many of the team will be finished at U21 level afterwards]. 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, work so hard and are so diligent.”
England’s Impressive Performance So Far
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 the stage you’ll see a different intensity to the team. I’m looking forward to it.
Aston Villa striker Cameron Archer, Newcastle’s Anthony Gordon and Arsenal’s Emile Smith Rowe have each scored two goals in Georgia. Nottingham Forest’s Morgan Gibbs-White has three assists, the most of anybody in the tournament. England have beaten Portugal 1-0 and Israel 3-0 in the knockout stages, having beaten the Czech Republic, Israel and Germany in the group – all without Manchester City keeper James Trafford, who is close to a move to Burnley, conceding a goal.
England ‘Take Pride’ in Clean Sheet Record
“It’s something the whole team takes pride in,” said England defender Taylor Harwood-Bellis. “The team can suffer, like against Portugal. We’ve got it in our locker to stick together and put your body on the line to keep it out. James has been a massive part of that but I could go through all the bench and they’d all do the same.”
Spain: A Tough Opponent for England
Spain, who beat Ukraine 5-1 in the other semi-final, will be a tough opponent for England. They are the joint most successful team in the competition’s history, along with Italy, with five triumphs. Abel Ruiz and Sergio Gomez, the Manchester City defender, are the joint top scorers in the competition with three. Both players have set up two each as well.
Carsley said: “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.” Harwood-Bellis said: “We’ve not played them before but we’ve been up against some very good teams. The way we played against the top nations we did really well, we had to compete in different ways. Saturday is the same. We talk a lot about it being us vs us and that won’t change.”
Could Location of Final Help Young Lions?
Spain are managed by Santi Denia, who has coached each of Spain’s age groups from U16 up at some stage since 2010. “I wouldn’t like to mention any individuals in the England team,” he said. “They’re a great side. I would like to praise the job my colleague, Lee, has done with the team. They’ve had a great tournament so far, and he’s done a great job.”
England have one major advantage on Spain – the location. All of England’s games have been in Georgia, and this will be their fourth game at the Batumi Arena. Spain, on the other hand, played their other games in Romania’s capital Bucharest, more than 800 miles away. Denia said: “We knew from the start if we reached the final it would be here in Georgia, we’d have to make this trip, and that we would play the group stage in Romania. We’re here, and now we’re going to have our pre-match training session. It’s true we’ve had less preparation time, but the medical team and everyone is working hard towards the same goal.”
Carsley said: “It’s definitely a venue we feel comfortable in. From the journey to the stadium, the lads are aware of how far it is and the reception we get. The Premier League is very popular in Georgia, you see the shirts everywhere. The players have made a point of signing autographs and meeting the locals. We’ve had a lot of kids at training and they’ve been giving them jerseys, that goes a long way.”
Conclusion
England are looking to win their first European Under-21 Championship since 1984 when they take on Spain this Saturday in Georgia. Lee Carsley’s side have yet to concede a goal in this summer’s tournament and have beaten Portugal 1-0 and Israel 3-0 in the knockout stages without Manchester City keeper James Trafford conceding a goal. Spain are managed by Santi Denia and are joint most successful team in the competition’s history with Italy with five triumphs. England have one major advantage on Spain – the location as all of England’s games have been in Georgia while Spain played their other games in Romania’s capital Bucharest, more than 800 miles away. With both teams playing their best football yet and looking to make history this Saturday promises to be an exciting match that will be remembered for years to come!