Fighting spirit lifts England U21s as they eye more history

England Under-21s have proved they have the fight to defend their European title.

The mass brawl at the final whistle, coupled with a brilliant Euro 2025 quarter-final victory over Spain on Saturday, removed any doubt these Young Lions could be a soft touch.

Charlie Cresswell promised pre-game there would be no lack of fight from England after their limp 2-1 loss to Germany and the Young Lions lived up to the billing.

Cresswell was at the heart of protecting his team-mates, with players willing to fight for each other following a late challenge on Tino Livramento seconds before the final whistle sounded on their 3-1 victory.

Similar scenes followed England's Euro 2023 final victory over Spain and the defending champions are not willing to let their title go quietly.

They now face the Netherlands in the semi-finals on Wednesday after a performance full of class, style, guile and fight.

"There's better ways to build camaraderie," manager Lee Carsley joked afterwards. "But we had something similar in the final [in 2023]. Emotions run high in those scenarios, you don't want anyone to get sent off or throw a punch.

"You can see what it means to the players, we probably have to give them a bit of leeway. Thankfully it didn't go over the top, it's still not nice to see. We are always trying to encourage younger players to take up football but the passion was just a bit much."

James McAtee, scorer of England's early opener, also epitomised the mood, the Manchester City midfielder ready and willing to dish it out.

He said: "We were the two big teams in the tournament, so them kicking off, we can't just sit back and just let them do it. We have to give them a bit back, so I'm happy with the boys."

"I think there's still a lot more to come from the team. I said at the start of the tournament that the longer we can stay in I think the more joined up we'll become," said Carsley.

The head coach has always been confident in his assertion England would start to find their feet and momentum in the competition as long as they qualified from the group. A win over the Czech Republic was followed by a draw with Slovenia and the defeat by Germany.

Cresswell and Jay Stansfield produced standout performances while the substitutes also made an impact, especially Elliot Anderson after he came on soon after the break.

"They are a really together group but I've been with together groups who have gone home quite early," said Carsley.

"It was just a matter of time before it did click. I think our expectation of these players is always very high and I'm just glad that we've got into a position now where I feel that we've got a real good chance of pushing."

Yet, despite saying he did not feel like an underdog going into the game against Spain, Carsley was reluctant to paint his side as tournament favourites now.

He added: "We have to be humble. It's going to be a really difficult game, the semi-final. So we'll be fully prepared again. The Netherlands are another team we've watched for maybe six months now.

"We're fully aware of all their players, their strengths, their weaknesses. I've already got a few ideas on what we might change in terms of how we're going to build and attack them and you can guarantee we'll definitely be attacking them again."

Losing Liam Delap - the striker's £30m move from Ipswich to Chelsea saw him going with the Blues to the Club World Cup instead - robbed Carsley of a focal point up front.

While it is easy to focus on the missing forward it created a clear problem, with England lacking a presence going forward and someone to finish off promising moves in the group stage.

They continued to work good positions in the group stage - creating the third most chances in the tournament - but lacked the finishing touch.

Marseille's Jonathan Rowe started up front in all three group games but failed to score and Stansfield was the only recognised out-and-out striker in the squad.

The Birmingham striker scored 24 goals to help win the League One title last season and he does not have the physical presence of Delap yet he ran himself into the ground in Trnava.

His selfless work opened space for others and he never gave the Spanish defence time to rest. The striker came off late on when it was clear he had nothing left in the tank.

On Friday, Carsley spoke about taking more risks and being brave enough to potentially leave the gaps and that is exactly what he got.

Delap's absence was key but he was not the only missing man.

Jobe Bellingham's £33m move to Borussia Dortmund also saw him head Stateside with his new club, scoring against Mamelodi Sundowns a couple of hours before England kicked off in Trnava.

Off the back of helping Sunderland return to the Premier League via the play-offs the midfielder would have undoubtedly been an asset for Carsley, as would Adam Wharton.

The concussion Wharton suffered in Crystal Palace's FA Cup final triumph means he is another key man missing in this tournament.

Captain Taylor Harwood-Bellis, a winner in 2023, was absent with an ankle injury while Jarrad Branthwaite - also a champion two years ago - suffered a hamstring injury to keep him out.

Despite the missing players, Carsley's band of brothers have shown they are ready to defend their title.