Carsley speaks of commitment, belief and pride

England under-21s head coach Lee Carsley was bursting with pride after the Young Lions boss and his players were crowned European champions for consecutive tournaments.

It is a feat which replicates the achievements of Dave Sexton’s team who won back-to-back titles between 1982 and 1984.

However, Carsley – who won the tournament with the MU21s back in 2023 – couldn’t speak more highly of the current crop, who beat Germany 3-2 in Bratislava earlier this evening.

“I’m really proud of the players,” said Carsley. “The commitment they’ve shown for the last 28 days. All these instructions we’ve tried to put into them have been taken on board so quickly.

“They’ve got so much belief. We spoke about it at St. George’s. This squad believe that they can win and that’s the kind of players we need. I’m so proud of them, so happy for them.

“To be European champions for a second time is a great achievement. I suppose the challenge now is to do it again in two years.”

Back-to-back 🏆🏆

Lee Carsley becomes the first England U21 manager to win consecutive #U21EUROs since Dave Sexton in ’82 and ’84 💫 pic.twitter.com/QgrENEfhnO

— England (@England) June 28, 2025

Ahead of the game, the Young Lions boss spoke of his belief in his players and that faith paid off.

England fashioned a 2-0 lead in the first half but were pegged back, needing extra time to find a winner. But they fought back to eventually triumph.

“They’ve got on with it,” explained Carsley. “Any setback that we’ve had, the players have just got together.

“I said at the start of the tournament the longer we stay in, the better we’ll play. I didn’t feel we played great tonight. We probably sat a bit too deep and didn’t have as much control as I would’ve wanted but we probably won’t remember that in a few days.”

And Carsley emphasised just how passionate he is about his role, nurting the next generation.

“I’m going to try and enjoy tonight,” continued Carsley. “It’s important I love my job. I’m very proud of the job that I do and I love working with the players.

“Obviously, I’ve had the chance with the senior team as well and I loved that so the best thing I can do is help the pathway and help the senior team.”

The celebrations can now commence for Carsley and his players, who will depart Slovakia in the early hours of tomorrow morning and the head coach insisted they will savour every minute of their remaining time together.

“We go back to the hotel for a couple of hours and then fly back into Birmingham at 3:30am,” added Carsley.

“It’s a quick turnaround, the players will be on holiday tomorrow and their time is very important. It’s important that they have a shandy or two to back the win.”