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England Under-21s reach Euros final after 2-1 win over the Netherlands
England will play in the final of the European Under-21 Championship after beating the Netherlands 2-1 in the semi-finals on Wednesday at the Kosicka Futbalova Arena in Kosice, Slovakia.
Two goals from Liverpool midfielder Harvey Elliot ensured that Lee Carsley's side would play in back-to-back finals after winning the competition in 2023.
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The first half ended goalless after Dutch goalkeeper Robin Roefs made two saves to keep out Elliott and Omari Hutchinson in intense heat in eastern Slovakia. The breakthrough came after half-time as Newcastle United's Elliot Anderson drove at the Netherlands back line before playing in Elliott who fired past Roefs in the 62nd minute.
Substitute Noah Ohio stunned England with his first touch of the game 10 minutes later, finding the net from well outside of the box to catch out goalkeeper James Beadle at his near post.
However, Elliott restored England's lead in the 82nd minute, drifting past defenders before finding the bottom-right corner from the edge of the box to score his fourth goal of the tournament.
'To win is incredible, can't put it into words,' Elliott told Channel 4 after the game. 'Another final, I know I keep saying it but we need to rest, recover, and go again because it's not over yet. Tonight was another amazing experience, really tough conditions once again but the way the lads dug deep, I think we deserve this final.
'It's been really tough preparation-wise. We've had a lot of players that had to drop out because of the Club World Cup, transfer and things like that.
'We want to do it for everyone that couldn't be here and we want to do it for ourselves as well and all of the supporters here to support us and the supporters back home.
'It's just one last push now and hopefully we can be crowned champions again.'
England beat Spain 3-1 to earn their place in the semi-finals, while the Netherlands beat Portugal 1-0.
They will play the winners of Germany vs. France which takes place later on Wednesday.
Analysis from Art de Roche
That second half was about Harvey Elliott taking charge.
Scoring off both feet, it was the winner in particular that demonstrated the authority Lee Carsley would have wanted to see from one of the two players who was part of the Euro 2023-winning squad.
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Elliott smelt blood as he turned onto his left foot just outside the box, and took full advantage. Having opened the scoring with a powerful right-footed effort he is now the second highest scorer in the tournament with four goals.
That should serve him well after admitting he is wary of 'wasting years' of his career by not playing regularly at club level before travelling to Slovakia.
Despite waiting late to book their place in Saturday's final, England deserved their win.
Carsley's side started fast, with four of their five first half shots coming in the opening 12 minutes.
Ipswich Town's Omari Hutchinson, who has impressed throughout the tournament, was key to these efforts with runs around the outside and inside of the opposition right-back leading to those chances.
Collectively, the team has grown as the tournament has progressed. They gained much-needed momentum against Spain which carried through to their performance against the Netherlands, and will give them encouragement ahead of the final.
(Tomas Benedikovic/AFP via Getty Images)
