England MU21s head coach Lee Carsley speaks after EURO title win

England men's under-21s head coach Lee Carsley paid tribute to his players, after seeing them become UEFA U21 EURO champions in Georgia on Saturday evening.

The Young Lions completed an impressive tournament display with a 1-0 victory over Spain in the Final in Batumi, making it six wins from games and not conceding a goal throughout.

And Carsley felt his side were worthy champions this year, after what has been a two-season long process to reach this point via their qualifying round.

"I think the players deserved it," he said.

"I spoke about it yesterday, but they've worked so hard and they've been so motivated all season.

"We had a really tough qualifying campaign, but I thought they were outstanding tonight.

"I thought it was difficult at times, Spain are a very good team but to get the win and to keep a clean sheet, the players deserve so much credit.

"I'm really proud, along with the the rest of the staff, we knew we had the players, we knew we had the quality but it was a case of them coming together as a squad, helping each other and supporting each other throughout.

"They've had a long season, they maybe had a week off then they came into camp and we've been away for a month and they go back to their clubs in 10-15 days, so I think they've earned the chance to maybe have a little drink tonight!"

The FA's CEO Mark Bullingham, who was present at the Final, added: “Congratulations to Lee Carsley, his players and support team for winning the U21 European Championship. The manner in which this England squad has progressed through the tournament has been hugely impressive, and to do it without conceding a goal is simply remarkable. Everybody connected with the group should feel a great sense of pride for the part they’ve played in leading this age group to the trophy for the first time since 1984.

“This is the second successive summer that one of our men’s development teams have been crowned champions of Europe and that is testament to the on-going work across our entire England pathway, and the outstanding work being done by clubs. We are fortunate to have talented people at St. George’s Park and we continue to invest in creating winning England men’s and women’s teams that consistently reach the latter stages of tournaments.”