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England U21 v Netherlands live: Result and reaction as late Elliott goal sends Young Lion into Euros final
England 2-1 Netherlands: Harvey Elliott scored twice, including late on, to send Lee Carsley’s side into their second consecutive Euro U21s final
Harvey Elliott spectacularly fired England Under-21s to the European Championship final as they moved one win away from becoming back-to-back champions.
One year on from the men's senior team beating the Netherlands in the Euros semi-final, the Young Lions followed suit, with Elliott's second-half double earning a 2-1 win in Bratislava.
The 22-year-old, a Premier League champion with Liverpool, scored both goals, first putting his side ahead just after the hour and then firing a superb 86th-minute winner after Noah Ohio had levelled for the Dutch with his first touch.
Lee Carsley's side will meet Germany or France in Saturday's final when they will hope to retain the crown they won two years ago.
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England 0-0 Netherlands, 8 mins
Hutchinson looking dangerous down the left, another jinking run and dinks the ball to Hinshelwood, it comes to Elliott but his shot is blocked.
The Netherlands counter well, Poku to the byline but his pull-back is behind Manhoef. First decent moment from the men in orange.
England 0-0 Netherlands, 7 mins
Stansfield leading the press for England - the Birmingham striker full of running in the early going and it’s forcing mistakes from the Netherlands defence.
Anderson picks up the ball and drives into the box but he goes down as it’s flicked away from him. Good tackle.
SAVE! England 0-0 Netherlands, 4 mins
That’s good from England. Hutchinson bursts down the left, runs at his man, into the area with a stepover and squares the ball across the box.
Elliott arriving late at the back post, strikes it first time with his left foot and Dutch keeper Roefs stretches with his foot to save well at the near post. A bit unconventional but he kept it out - a decent stop in the end.
England 0-0 Netherlands, 3 mins
It is hot in Slovakia, with the temperature above 30 degrees C. Lee Carsley says England are ready to deal with that but it could well affect the tempo and how intense the press can be.
As expected, England dominating possession in the early going. Dutch captain Hato brings down Stansfield in midfield
KICK-OFF! England v Netherlands
Underway in Bratislava. Can England reach the final once again?
England v Netherlands
The teams are out on the pitch in Bratislava - a decent crowd in actually. Anthems just being completed now and then it’s kick-off
England v Netherlands team news
We’re about 10 minutes away from kick-off in Slovakia. Here’s a reminder of how the teams line up.
England XI: Beadle; Hinshelwood, Quansah, Cresswell, Livramento; Scott, Anderson; Elliott, McAtee, Hutchinson; Stansfield
Netherlands XI: Roefs; Kasanwirjo, Van den Berg, Hato, Maatsen; Flamingo, Valente, Milambo; Manhoef, Van Bergen, Poku
England v Netherlands
Bratislava looks ready for what should be a fascinating semi-final this evening.
Can the Young Lions move one step closer to another U21 Euros title?
England beat Spain to reach last four
There were wild celebrations as England impressively beat Spain in the quarter-finals
Lee Carsley says England ready to deal with heat
Lee Carsley will not allow the heat to be an excuse as England in Bratislava today.
Temperatures are set to exceed 30 degrees celsius in Slovakia but boss Carsley insists his players are ready to take that challenge on
"We've not shied away from the heat," Carsley said. "We've exposed the players to it fully. We're ready for it. We're fully prepared now.
"We've trained at some of the hottest periods of the day, not on purpose but just the way that it's worked out with our training time.
"We've been here long enough now to acclimatise to the heat. We've definitely got hydration strategies in place in terms of what the players need to cool down quickly and hydrate quickly.
"I think our use of the substitutions has been effective in terms of our timings. We've probably gone a little bit earlier than you would in normal circumstances, based on how hot it's been."
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