Lee Carsley: 'We can't wait for the U21 EURO'

England men’s under-21s head coach Lee Carsley admits he’s excited about next summer’s UEFA U21 EURO Finals as the Young Lions prepare to defend their title.

Carsley was in Bratislava on Tuesday evening for the group stage draw, which saw England placed in Group B alongside Germany, Czechia and Slovenia. 

And as Carsley returns to his role with the MU21s following his spell as interim head coach of the men’s senior team, he’s already turned his thoughts to what England will be up against in June.

“They’re teams that we’ve played before, so we know a lot about them,” he said.

“They’re all good teams too, so we know how difficult it’s going to be and it’s a tournament that we’re looking forward to now.”

Carsley led England to the U21 EURO title in 2023 and with a number of that squad still being young enough to feature in the 2025 edition, he’s hoping that his current group can head to Slovakia and form a strong challenge for the title again.

“It’s important that we play with the same confidence and belief that we played with at the last tournament,” he added.

“I think we have to remember how young they are we have to make sure we support them and give them the opportunity.

“But we’re very excited about the tournament, it seems like it’s taken a long time to come around but being at the draw today and seeing the excitement, we can’t wait now.”

The 2025 UEFA U21 EURO Finals take place between 11 and 28 June and the Group B fixtures will be staged at the DAC Aréna in Dunajská Streda and the Nitra Stadium.

Fixture dates and time will be confirmed by UEFA in due course.