England U21s ‘shell-shocked’ during Euros loss – Carsley

Within the first 33 minutes of their final group match, the defending champions were trailing by 2-0 before Alex Scott responded with a more encouraging second-half performance.

The Young Lions will now face Spain in the quarter-finals because Slovenia’s 2-0 defeat by the Czech Republic made the result less expensive for England.

At half-time, Carsley made four changes to his starting lineup, including Genoa right-back Brooke Norton-Cuffy, captain James McAtee, and striker Jay Stansfield, as he addressed his side’s subpar opening.

“The first half wasn’t anywhere near good enough.” He continued, “The way we started the game and the goals we conceded were very disappointing.”

They must have known that, they said. We could have made a lot of changes with the adjustments we made at half-time. In the second half, I requested a response, and we were unquestionably successful.

The performance “was not what we needed.” That was more similar to the second half reaction when you consider it. It took us to reach that point, which is disappointing, by going 2-0 down.

Following his time as the senior team’s interim head coach, Carsley has not had as much time as he normally would to get ready for the tournament.

After leaving Chelsea and Borussia Dortmund, both of whom he signed for will play for the under-21s, he returned to lead the under-21s in March. He has also had to deal with the loss of Jobe Bellingham and Liam Delap, who both signed for the club and will compete in the Fifa Club World Cup.

No-one will roll over for us when you put on the shirt because of the attention the team receives, living up to some expectations, and said Carsley.