Report: England MU21s 2-1 Netherlands

Harvey Elliott’s brilliant double sent England men’s under-21s into the UEFA U21 EURO Final as they beat the Netherlands 2-1 in Bratislava.

After a goalless first half, Elliott smashed England into the lead after latching on to Elliot Anderson’s pass and rifling into the roof of the net.

The Netherlands equalised ten minutes later through Noah Ohio’s long-range strike but just when it seemed extra time was looming, Liverpool starlet Elliott found space on the edge of the box and fired low into the bottom corner to send the defending champions through to Saturday’s final against Germany, following their 3-0 win over France in the other semi-final.

England flew out the blocks in the searing Slovakian heat and came close to taking the lead on several occasions early on, with Elliott in the thick of the action.

He saw a third-minute shot kept out by the foot of Dutch goalkeeper Robin Roefs at his near-post following Omari Hutchinson’s cut-back.

Elliott then saw a fizzing effort from the edge of the box blocked when a corner wasn’t cleared before being denied by Roefs again from close range, with Jay Stansfield this time the provider.

Roefs was called into action once more to keep out James McAtee’s flick after the captain latched on to Tino Livramento’s pass midway through the first half as Carsley’s side stayed on top.

The Netherlands grew into the contest as the half wore on but were unable to create much in the way of clear-cut chances.

They were awarded a free-kick in a promising position in first-half stoppage time, Anderson booked for his challenge, but England broke quickly and created an opportunity of their own as the lively Hutchinson’s cutback was dummied by Elliott for Alex Scott, whose shot was deflected over the bar.

The second half began with both Stansfield and Livramento seeing efforts blocked, either side of James Beadle getting an important hand to Luciano Valente’s low cross.

The deserved breakthrough for the Young Lions then arrived just after the hour mark.

Anderson picked up possession in the final third and found Elliott, who got the ball out of his feet and hammered it past Roefs into the roof of the net.

Hutchinson came close to doubling the lead shortly afterwards, dragging a shot into the side netting, but England were then hit by a bolt from the blue.

Ohio, recently introduced to the fray from the bench, took aim from 30 yards and curled a speculative effort inside the near post to level matters.

But Carsley rang the changes in the closing stages and England found a winner with just five minutes remaining.

Elliott span away from Thom van Bergen and space opened up in front of the midfielder, who picked out the bottom corner with a fierce effort as England replicated the efforts of the senior team last summer and earned a late semi-final win over the Dutch.

England: 1 James Beadle (Brighton & Hove Albion), 2 Tino Livramento (Newcastle United), 4 Jarell Quansah (Liverpool), 5 Charlie Cresswell (Toulouse), 16 Jack Hinshelwood (Brighton & Hove Albion); 8 Elliot Anderson (Nottingham Forest), 20 Alex Scott (AFC Bournemouth); 11 Omari Hutchinson (Ipswich Town), 10 James McAtee (c) (Manchester City), 19 Harvey Elliott (Liverpool); 18 Jay Stansfield (Birmingham City),

Substitutes: 9 Jonathan Rowe (Olympique Marseille) for McAtee 78, 12 Brooke Norton-Cuffy (Genoa) for Hutchinson 78, 6 Hayden Hackney (Middlesbrough) for Scott 84, 21 Ethan Nwaneri (Arsenal) for Stansfield 84, 14 Archie Gray (Tottenham Hotspur) for Elliott 90

Subs not used: 3 Ronnie Edwards (Southampton), 7 Tom Fellows (West Bromwich Albion),), 13 Tommy Simkin (Stoke City), 15 CJ Egan-Riley (Olympique Marseille), 17 Samuel Iling-Junior (Aston Villa), 22 Teddy Sharman-Lowe (Chelsea)

Goals: Elliott 62, 85

Netherlands: 16 Robin Roefs, 12 Neraysho Kasanwirjo, 13 Rav van den Berg, 4 Jorrel Hato, 5 Ian Maatsen, 3 Ryan Flamingo, 22 Luciano Valente, 20 Antoni Milambo, 7 Million Manhoef, 19 Thom van Bergen, 17 Ernest Poku

Substitutes: 14 Wouter Goes for Kasanwirjo 45, 9 Noah Ohio for Milambo 69, 15 Bjorn Meijer for Valente 76, 6 Youri Regeer for van Bergen 87, 21 Myron van Brederode for Manhoef 87

Subs not used: 1 Dani van den Heuvel, 8 Anass Salah-Eddine, 18 Ezechiel Banzuzi, 23 Calvin Raatsie

Goals: Ohio 72