Carsley reflects on MU21s' EURO success in 'Back to Back'

England men’s under-21s head Lee Carsley has revealed the challenges faced by his squad and staff ahead of their second successive UEFA U21 EURO title in 2025.

A new England Original documentary – ‘Back to Back’ – following the Young Lions’ successful campaign in Slovakia last summer  is now available to watch via the England app with England+ members getting exclusive access to view.

Following their victory at the previous U21 EURO in 2023, when Carsley’s team won the title with six victories and ZERO goals conceded, the pressure was on for England to defend their title with a largely new cohort of players.

Back To Back: An England MU21 documentary 🎞️

Dropping 2 September, or available on our app from TOMORROW with early access for England+ members 🎬

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And for Carsley and his staff, there was the added scenario of missing the MU21 camps throughout the autumn following his spell as interim head coach of the senior team after Gareth Southgate’s departure after UEFA EURO 2024.

This meant they had only one camp in the March to get back into their roles with the MU21s and plan for their challenge that summer.

 

With unique access inside the England set-up, the film follows Carsley as he guides the group through each stage of the competition, shaping their mindset and refining the tactics needed to face Europe’s toughest opponents – even taking on Germany, who they overcame in the final, twice.

"To go to a tournament and win six games and not concede a goal is very unusual,” said Carsley, when looking back at the win in 2023.

"So to stand in front of a new group and say 'be better than the last group’, if I was a player sitting there, I'd be thinking 'how can we be better?'

"It was a different build-up to the last campaign completely so getting up to speed with them was a big challenge.

"My mind went from being constantly focused on the MU21s and knowing them inside-out to taking over a different squad completely and taking over from Gareth and Steve.

"It took myself and staff out of our comfort zone.”

There were even further challenges before the squad had stepped foot in Slovakia, with two players withdrawn from the squad due to club transfers and subsequent involvement at the FIFA Club World Cup.

"It would be fair to say it was a little bit clunky at first, with the Club World Cup going on in the background and whether the players would be with us or not,” he explained.

“I'm thinking of Liam [Delap] and Jobe [Bellingham] as we'd actually named them in the squad, and right up until us travelling, those transfers were going through.

"But we spoke before we went out to the tournament about not hoping to do well, but believing that we could win it again, and the players from the first session were so motivated to win.”

‘Back to Back’ is now live to watch on the England app, with England+ members having exclusive access to view until Wednesday 2 September.

Find out more about England+ membership, and also the official England app.