Harvey Elliott’s brace saw reigning champions, England beat Netherlands 2-1 to reach 2025 UEFA Under-21s Euro Final.
Elliott netted his winning goal from a 85th-minute pass by Hayden Hackney, which allowed him to calmly cut into space and put the strike into the bottom right corner.
Elliott had initially fired England into a 62nd-minute lead with a close-range strike from Elliot Anderson’s pass, before Noah Ohio pounced upon a 72nd-minute mistake to curl in the Netherlands’ equaliser.
Speaking to Channel 4 post-match, England Under-21s manager, Lee Carsley praised him team for an “outstanding” performance “with real resilience.”
Elliott in particular drew high praise for his ability to step up on the big stage alongside his teammates.
“Harvey has been outstanding. He is one of many who have stood up. They’re developing as a team and a squad. I think this team is outstanding.”
England now await Germany in the final on Saturday 28 June at Tehelne pole, Bratislava, Slovakia in a 9pm CEST (8pm UK Time) kick-off, after the Germans thrashed France 3-0 through goals from Nelson Weiper, Nick Woltemade and Brajan Gruda.
England came into this game off the back of a clinical Quarter-Final win over Spain and almost took a third-minute lead through Elliott, but his shot was saved by Robin Roefs.
Carsley’s Young Lions continued to press in hot conditions and won a 11th-minute corner after Tino Livramento’s cross was blocked by Jorrel Hato, with the set-piece played out to Elliot whose powerful shot was blocked by Ian Maatsen.
Netherlands continued to defend resiliently as Roefs blocked Elliot’s shot a minute later from Jay Stansfield’s touch inside the box.
Michael Reiziger’s Dutch continued to dig in defensively throughout the first half which stayed goalless at the break, even after Alex Scott fired over for England in the second minute of additional time.
Netherlands managed to find more attacking fight after half time but struggled to break down England’s defence, during which Maatsen saw a shot denied by Beadle in the 59th minute.
Those wasted chances were soon punished in the 62nd minute as Anderson began a move which he then recollected from a loose moment by Omari Hutchinson, which allowed him to tee up Elliott to thump in the opener to put England ahead.
Hutchinson almost sent England onto the brink of a place in the final just three minutes later after he cut in from the left, but he only curled his shot into the near-left side-netting.
The heat soon began to tell on both teams but Netherlands timed Ohio’s 69th minute substitution in placed of Antoni Milambo to ideal perfection, as a loose back pass down the Dutch’s left flank allowed the 22-year-old to intercept and curl in an equaliser beyond Beadle’s reach.
Carsley on the other hand waited until the 78th minute before he made England’s first substitutions as Hutchinson and James McAtee were subbed for Brooke Norton-Cuffy and Jonathan Rowe respectively, followed by Jay Stansfield and Scott for Hackney and Ethan Nwaneri six minutes later.
Those changes ultimately changed the course of a game which begun to look set for extra time as England found a second wind, as Elliott saw a chance denied in the 82nd minute.
The 22-year-old however wasn’t denied just three minutes later as he picked up a pass from Hackney and calmly cut in from the right to the edge of the box, where he calmly rifled his second goal into the bottom right corner to send England to a second consecutive final in this competition.
Teams
England: James Beadle, Tino Livramento, Charlie Cresswell, Jack Hinshelwood, Jarell Quansah, James McAtee (Rowe 78′), Omari Hutchinson (Norton-Cuffy 78′), Elliot Anderson, Harvey Elliott (Gray 91′), Jay Stansfield (Nwaneri 84′), Alex Scott (Hackney 84′)
Substitutes: Ronnie Edwards, CJ Egan-Riley, Tom Fellows, Archie Gray, Hayden Hackney, Samuel Iling-Junior, Brooke Norton-Cuffy, Ethan Nwaneri, Jonathan Rowe, Teddy Sharman-Lowe, Tommy Simkin
Netherlands: Robin Roefs, Neraysho Kasanwirjo (Goes 46′), Rav van den Berg, Jorrel Hato, Ian Maatsen, Luciano Valente (Meijer 76′), Ryan Flamingo, Antoni Milambo (Ohio 69′), Million Manhoef, Thom van Bergen, Ernest Poku
Substitutes: Noah Ohio, Ezechiel Banzuzi, Wouter Goes, Bjorn Meijer, Calvin Raatsie, Youri Regeer, Anass Salah-Eddine, Myron van Brederode, Dani van den Heuvel
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