Lee Carsley insists there is still more to come as England U21s reach Euros semi-finals | OneFootball

England U21 manager Lee Carsley vowed that there are “better nights to come” after his side beat Spain 3-1 in the U21 European Championship quarter-final.

In a repeat of the 2023 final, England came out on top against Spain with goals from Harvey Elliott, James McAtee and Eliott Anderson.

Unlike in 2023, Spain were able to make the most of a spot kick to pull a goal back at 2-0 down but it was not enough as England progressed to face the Netherlands in the last four.

Although the win was important for England’s U21 team, Carsley does not want it to be the pinnacle of their tournament.

“This can’t be our final, this can’t be the highlight of our competition.” he said after the match.

“There’s better nights to come and it’s good now that we have an extra day to recover. We are looking forward to the next game.”

England’s start to the tournament has been shaky so far with the side without a win in their last two games before this, a loss to Germany and a draw with Slovenia.

But they were much improved against Spain, starting quickly with two goals and the England U21 boss said he enjoyed watching his team play.

“I was really impressed with them,” he said. “As a coach you want to be on the side of the pitch watching your team play and enjoying watching them play.

“I thought they played with such freedom in the first half especially, so attacking but so resilient in terms of nullifying Spain’s threats.”

England will face the Netherlands in the semi-final and Carsley insists that they are aware of the threats they will pose his side.

“In between camps we always watch all of the top teams and we would definitely put the Netherlands in that bracket,” he said.

“They are an exciting team, a team that we will be fully prepared for and we look forward to the game.”