England Under 21s are passing their rivals to death – dominating the ball is the key as the Young Lions cruise into the European Championship final
- The beauty of Cole Palmer’s goal against Israel came with the 23 passes before it
- Lee Carsley’s England Under 21 side are hugely dominant while in possession
- Young Lions face Spain U21s in the European Championship final on Saturday
A perfect illustration of how England Under 21s have attacked the European Championship — a tournament they could win on Saturday — came at the Adjarabet Arena earlier this week.
Cole Palmer scored their second in easing beyond Israel to set up a final against Spain. The beauty of that came not with the finish, as controlled as it was, but the 23 passes preceding it.
The whole team went to celebrate with Palmer after a lengthy VAR check for offside and that was symbolic: this was a goal that involved pretty much all of them.
No team have scored a goal at this Euros with more passes. England’s dominance with the ball is such that four of the competition’s top five goals with the most passes are theirs. There is an artistry to how Lee Carsley demands his side operate and it is liberating a talented group.
‘If you want to put it like that,’ Morgan Gibbs-White laughed when it was suggested that England have passed teams to death over the past fortnight. ‘It’s how we work and how we play. We’ve been working on close combination play in training and then the individual talent takes over.’
The beauty of Cole Palmer’s goal against Israel came with the 23 passes before it for England
The Young Lions celebrate after beating Israel 3-0 in the European Championship semi-final
Manager Lee Carsley (left) has trained his side to ‘pass teams to death’ while in possession
It certainly did in this instance. England slowly and calmly knocked the ball about, walking at one point, waiting for Israel to engage. Then quick as a flash Gibbs-White and Emile Smith Rowe were exchanging a couple of one-twos and Palmer netted. Nought to goal in eight seconds.
They have recorded the most build-ups, which are attacks that contain 10 or more passes ending in the box, and average more passes per move than anyone else.
Their average time in possession per ‘sequence’ is 15.5 seconds, higher than the rest. They also have the physical pace and speed of thought to hurt opposition when space allows, a dangerous combination.
That England meet technically blessed Spain in the final feels like a fitting end — and facing opposition who want to go at them might even help.
At one point against Israel, centre half Levi Colwill stood motionless on the halfway line with nobody showing any inclination to close him down. It has felt like a few teams have feared being manoeuvred like pawns and so Israel just didn’t bother attempting to win possession.
England were booed for that, as if it was their own fault. Much of the credit for this style must go to Carsley, who initially raised eyebrows by picking Manchester United’s attack-minded Angel Gomes as his deepest midfielder.
‘The squad has not got a ceiling,’ Gomes said. ‘It’s very rare that you get such a complete team in terms of the players we have. I think there’s no telling how many can go up and make the next step to the seniors.’
Gomes, who has Portuguese heritage, would not look out of place in a Spain team. Diminutive but intuitive, the brain of this side. His partnership with Liverpool’s Curtis Jones at the base of midfield has been revelatory. The swaggering Jones has looked a cut above for large parts.
‘Curtis and I just complement each other really well,’ Gomes added. ‘It’s more on a technical level. You’ve got to be versatile. We both speak the language of football. Naturally it would be difficult see us both in there in that midfield role but I think your football talks.’
England hope that continues in Batumi on Saturday.
