Lee Carsley wants Under-21s to complete Euros hat-trick after defending title | OneFootball

Lee Carsley has challenged England’s Under-21s to complete a hat-trick of European Championship titles after defending their crown with a 3-2 victory over Germany in Bratislava on Saturday night.

Jonathan Rowe scored the winner in extra time, after Harvey Elliott and Omari Hutchinson had given England a 2-0 first-half lead. Germany were twice denied by the woodwork as England held on.

Afterwards, Carsley praised his players’ achievement and spoke of his desire to go for three in a row. Carsley signed a contract extension through to the 2027 European Under-21 Championship earlier this month.

"I'm proud of the players, the commitment they've shown over the last 28 days and all the instruction we've tried to put into them so quickly, they've taken it on board," he told Channel 4 post-match.

"They've got so much belief, we spoke about it when we were at St George's that 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 the second time is a great achievement and I suppose the challenge now is to do it again in two years.

"Any setback we've had, the players have just got together. I think I said at the start of the tournament, the longer we stay in, the better we play.

"I didn't think we played great tonight, I thought we sat a little bit too deep and didn't have as much control as I would've wanted, but we probably won't remember that in a couple of days."

Carsley only had two players who were in his squad for England’s first Under-21s triumph in Georgia two years ago, in Elliott, the player of the tournament, and Charlie Cresswell.

The Under-21s overcame a tricky start after losing to Germany in the group stages, but shone in the knockout rounds after beating Spain, the Netherlands and Germany to win the title in front of Thomas Tuchel.

Lee Carsley with match-winner Jonathan Rowe (The FA via Getty Images)

“It was a great target to go for and the most important thing is that the young 21s keep winning, keep producing players for the senior team,” Carsley said.

“We spoke a lot about the position where potentially we’ll go for three, so I’m definitely looking forward to that. It’s a great target to go for. I don’t think it’s been done yet, so it may be looking at the squad as well.”

Carsley, who stepped up to manage England on an interim basis before Tuchel’s appointment last year, was also praised by FA chief executive Mark Bullingham.

“I am sure Lee will be humble about what he and the group have achieved but he should be recognised for this special achievement,” Bullingham said, as reported by the Guardian.

“Before Lee took over, we hadn’t won this trophy for 39 years. In two tournament cycles he has won it twice.”