So much for taking the easy option. Lee Carsley’s second coming as England’s Under-21 head coach ended in a chastening defeat against a talented France side that could prove to be a major stumbling block to his hopes of retaining the European title.
A hat-trick from the Eintracht Frankfurt striker Hugo Ekitike and an inspirational performance from Lyon’s Rayan Cherki were too much for an experimental England side that responded with goals from James McAtee, Harvey Elliott and Liam Delap before Elliott wasted a chance to equalise when he blasted his penalty into orbit.
A harsh late red card for the substitute Omari Hutchinson was not exactly what Carsley would have planned from this trip to Brittany as Gérald Baticle’s side laid down a marker ahead of this summer’s tournament in Slovakia.
“It’s something that we need to look at, obviously – to concede five goals and not great goals either,” said Carsley, who defended his decision to play with three at the back. “I don’t think it would have had any benefit coming over here and just playing the way that we always do. We always want to play with a punch. We want to score goals.”
The array of rising stars on show meant this game had been billed as the most valuable Under-21 international ever held with the combined value of both squads estimated at almost €1bn by the transfermarkt website.
Carsley said this week that he feels “very lucky” to be back in charge of such a talented squad after his spell as interim senior coach and had hinted that he would use this and Monday’s friendly against Portugal to try out different combinations with a largely different group to the squad that triumphed in Georgia two years ago.
Bournemouth’s Alex Scott was a surprise choice at right-wing back as Adam Wharton – who along with Taylor Harwood-Bellis and Delap trained with Thomas Tuchel’s senior squad this week – and Elliot Anderson showed glimpses of their ability in central midfield in an area of the squad where Carsley is spoilt for choice.
He must have thought it was going to be a comfortable evening when McAtee – who may not be eligible for this summer’s finals in Slovakia given Manchester City’s involvement at the club World Cup – slammed home from close range from a corner after Delap’s header deflected off his Ipswich teammate Jaden Philogene in the second minute.
But France also have impressive depth in this age group and were level within two minutes when a brilliant through ball from Cherki set up Quentin Merlin inside the area. Harwood-Bellis and the goalkeeper James Beadle were then at fault as a long ball from Cherki allowed Ekitike – who will face Tottenham in next month’s Europa League quarter-final – to race through and score.
While they struggled to get to grips with France’s skilful front three, England looked bright whenever they went forward and it needed solid saves from the goalkeeper Obed Nkambadio to keep out efforts from Delap, Philogene and Anderson, before Philogene’s deflected shot struck the post.
after newsletter promotion
There was a touch of class about Ekitike’s second goal after good work from Tottenham’s Wilson Odobert down the left allowed him to backheel the ball into the net. But Elliott gave England renewed hope when he pulled one back from McAtee’s clever header across goal, with Anderson then going within inches of equalising just before half-time.
With so many options on the bench, including Arsenal’s Ethan Nwaneri who was celebrating his 18th birthday, it was a surprise that Carsley didn’t make any changes until later in the second half when the game was already lost.
Ekitike soon completed his hat-trick with a simple tap in after Odobert once again left CJ Egan-Riley in his dust, although England refused to throw in the towel and were given a lifeline when Delap headed in after McAtee’s chip struck the crossbar.
Elliott was handed a golden opportunity to equalise from the spot when Rico Lewis was taken out but the Liverpool forward’s penalty was reminiscent of Harry Kane’s against France at the 2022 World Cup as it sailed into the stands.
It was left for Cherki to apply the coup de grâce when his shot squirmed under the unfortunate Beadle to send Carsley back to the drawing board.
Source: theguardian.com
