England Under-21s boss Lee Carsley has heaped praise on his team's lethal attack in the early minutes of their triumphant 2-0 victory over Germany at the European Under-21 Championship.
The Young Lions wasted no time in taking the lead, with Cameron Archer seizing upon a perfectly threaded pass from Jacob Ramsey, effortlessly slotting the ball past Noah Atubolu just four minutes into the game. They extended their advantage to 2-0 in the 21st minute when Harvey Elliott delivered a sensational solo goal.
Having secured a quarter-final clash with Portugal on Sunday by topping the group with three consecutive 2-0 wins, England showed their dominance while the defending champions Germany were left licking their wounds.
Carsley, speaking to UEFA.com, remarked: "We were fortunate to take our chances. Germany had some really good chances but didn't take them. We're really happy with the result but more importantly the performance. We thought it was a really difficult game. We knew preparing for the game that it was going to be a tough one.
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"We were lucky enough to play Germany in one of the international windows in a friendly. We knew the quality that they had. Tactically they're very difficult to break down, and you've seen that in the game today."
England's tight defence has been a standout feature of their campaign, as they are yet to concede a single goal in the tournament, recording three clean sheets. Carsley commended his defensive unit for their outstanding performances.
"We talk about the whole team defending, as opposed to just the defence," he explained. "I thought Levi (Colwill) and Taylor (Harwood-Bellis), as well as Jarrad (Branthwaite) and Charlie (Cresswell), have done outstandingly at centre-back, and obviously James (Trafford) in goal."
Highlighting the collective effort, Carsley continued: "As a whole, we've defended really well from full-back areas, with midfielders and forwards. It was really pleasing to see, right at the end of the game, players making blocks on the edge of the box and blocking crosses. It's good to see."
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