Harvey Elliott: 'We deserve this Final'

England’s matchwinner Harvey Elliott is ready to help fire the Young Lions to another EURO title, after his two goals against the Netherlands helped seal a spot in the 2025 UEFA U21 EURO Final.

The Liverpool forward opened the scoring in Bratislava just after the hour mark to set England on their way, before the Dutch levelled things up ten minutes later.

But with extra time looming in the sweltering Slovakian sun, Elliott fired home the winning goal to see England secure their place in Saturday’s Final against Germany (8pm BST kick-off).

“It’s amazing,” said Elliott.

“It was a really tough game but to win is incredible, I can’t put it into words.

“Another final, I keep saying it but we need to rest, recover and go again as it’s not over yet.

“Tonight was another amazing experience, really tough conditions again. The way the lads dug deep, we deserve this final.”

Elliott, along with defender Charlie Cresswell, were among the MU21s squad who won the EURO championship two years ago and now have a chance of retaining the title.

And he paid tribute to the squad and support team in Slovakia as focus now turns to the Final.

“We want to do it for ourselves, everyone who can’t be out here and the supporters both here and back home,” he added.

“We see it all and we are so thankful. It is one last push now and hopefully we can be crowned champions again.”

Goalkeeper James Beadle also spoke after the game, adding: “Unbelievable, this was our aim before the tournament and we are one step away. I am buzzing.

“We are really looking forward to the final now. We believe we can beat anyone, it doesn’t matter who we are playing against. We believe in our abilities and we are going there to win.”

Head coach Lee Carsley also paid tribute to his team, who he felt were deserved winners when looking back at the game as a whole in difficult conditions.

“The team were outstanding,” he said.

“The way we started the game was really exciting, we were disappointed to come in [at half time] without scoring.

“[In the] second half, we played with real resilience, we had to defend the box, James [Beadle] had to make some good saves, but we stood up and got over the line.

“We always knew it would be very hot, we’ve done all our training in the hottest part of the day to prepare them for this kind of event.

“We haven’t shied away from the sun, we’ve made sure we have exposed them to it, even to the point where we have given them opportunities to sunbathe after training to be exposed to the heat.

“It definitely helped, they have the technical ability to keep the ball but also play in the heat.”

Carsley also reserved praise for Elliott and Cresswell, and the impact and leadership they’ve shown among the group throughout the campaign following their experience from 2023.

“Harvey and Charlie (Cresswell) didn’t play a lot of minutes in the last campaign, but we knew how important they would be and they have taken on board the responsibility of driving on the rest of the squad,” he revealed.

“They are two who have been in this position before and that can really help. Harvey has been outstanding, he is one of many who have really stood up. James McAtee was really good as well today, Jay Stansfield – you could go through the whole team. They are really developing as a team and a squad and it’s a shame we only have one game left, as this team is outstanding.”