England U21s 2-0 Germany U21s: Lee Carlsey’s men cruise to routine win over Germans
England U21s 2-0 Germany U21s: Young Lions cruise to win and take down rivals after Harvey Elliott’s superb solo effort and Cameron Archer’s early attack
- England eased to a 2-0 victory over Germany at the U21 European Championship
- Cameron Archer opened the scoring for Harvey Elliott’s solo goal early on
- Lee Carsley’s England team now face Portugal in Sunday’s quarter-final
A second-rate England defeated Germany in a major tournament. Germany. History is not littered with examples of this.
But here we are with this Under-21 team. Wingers play centrally in midfield, a goalkeeper racing for high balls 40 yards from his area when under pressure.
A classy outfit, even with the majority of Lee Carsley’s big hitters starting on the bench for a game of little importance.
England had already passed, had already led this European Championship group and booked a quarter-final with Portugal on Sunday. All that mattered was whether they could send Germany home.
That, it turns out, was never in doubt on a night when they showed a gentleness again towards the end and played to themselves.
England secured a 2-0 win against Germany on Wednesday in their last European Championship group game
Cameron Archer got England off to a perfect start as he sent home in the early stages
Harvey Elliott scored a brilliant second after firing forward from the halfway line
Cameron Archer had them ahead after four minutes and led past Noah Atubolu from a sharp pass from Jacob Ramsey and they never looked back.
England might have added three more by the time Harvey Elliott collected James Trafford’s throw into the center circle and, bearing a slight resemblance to Michael Owen in 1998, drove into the far corner and fired into the far corner as defenders enraged kicked back. Really excellent individual work midway through the first half.
Germany created chances, Trafford produced one big stop to thwart Kevin Schade’s header, but this felt frighteningly comfortable. England even squabbled among themselves as they were not out of sight at one point.
Carsley had made seven tournament debuts in eight substitutions. In general you wouldn’t have noticed and that speaks to the depth within this squad. Normally a striker, Cole Palmer was at home in a deeper central midfield role and possession of the back four alongside Oliver Skipp.
The Liverpool star is celebrating after giving the Three Lions control of the game
Noni Madueke gave German Henning Matriciani a rough ride as he raced up and down the flank
It was a fascinating group stage to watch and not just because they managed three wins without conceding a goal. Motion blur has overwhelmed opponents at specific times and Carsley will need more of that this weekend in Kutaisi.
Portugal, captained by Valencia’s Andre Almeida, are considerably more technical than anyone England have faced to date and should have more resources to compete against a team so well matched.
Unfortunately, the FA has yet to deal with bids from broadcasters domestically and fans will continue to stream on UEFA’s website instead. That should definitely change as the performances get more complete and the knockouts begin.
England’s confident victory gives them tremendous momentum ahead of Sunday’s quarter-final with Portugal