- England lost to the Netherlands on penalties in 2007 and now face them again
- Carsley insists that his side will be ready this time with ‘technique and structure’
- LISTEN to Whistleblowers: Are Arsenal fans right to feel aggrieved by the fixtures?
Lee Carsley vowed that England have left no stone unturned if it comes to penalties in their Under-21 Euros semi-final against the Netherlands.
Back in 2007 it was the Dutch who had the last laugh against England in the semi-finals when they got the better of it in a 13-12 epic shootout.
But England have improved at shootouts across all levels and Carsley is not worried if their place in the finals comes down to kicks from 12 yards.
‘There’s definitely more of an awareness of penalties,’ Carsley said. ‘And the technique and structure that goes behind a penalty shootout, we’ve definitely done a lot of research.
‘We are at the point now where the talking about it and practising it is totally different then to stepping up and taking one.
‘We are fortunate now that we have a lot of England players that take penalties for their clubs which really helps.’
Lee Carsley has insisted his England Under-21 side will be ready for penalties against the Netherlands should they arrive
Carsley’s England will face Netherlands on Wednesday night in the semi-finals of the Under-21 European Championship
Elliot Anderson’s penalty helped the side reach the last-four after beating Spain in last round
Former seniors boss Gareth Southgate placed a great deal of emphasis on the research of shootouts and while Carsley is hoping to avoid it, England will be fully prepared for the highest stakes if it comes to it.
‘It is very difficult to replicate the walk from the halfway line to the penalty spot, especially if you are not used to it,’ he added.
‘There is definitely more of an awareness of how important, not only penalties are but set-pieces in general.
‘It’s definitely something Gareth really pushed which filtered down the pathway, which is so important because the amount of resources that would have been thrown at the senior team to be the best at penalty shootouts and have that awareness of how important they are has definitely trickled down the pathway and we have got the benefit of that.’
England have scored one penalty out here through Elliot Anderson and conceded one against Spain through Javi Guerra but in Jay Stansfield, Omari Hutchinson, Harvey Elliott, James McAtee and Jonathan Rowe they aren’t short of willing volunteers to step up.
As for Dutch goalkeeper Robin Roefs, he is not buying into England’s penalty confidence.
‘Yes, we prepare for this every game,’ he said. ‘We’re definitely ready for them.’
