Harvey Elliott scored a stunning brace against Netherlands on Wednesday evening to send England through to their second consecutive Under-21s Euros final.
There has been plenty of speculation surrounding Elliott’s future in recent weeks, with the 22-year-old starting just two league games for Liverpool this year.
But, the midfielder has scored four crucial goals in five games for England as they look to defend their Euros title and dispatched a stern Netherlands side last night with two stunning second-half finishes.
The first came when the midfielder latched onto a through ball after good work from Nottingham Forest’s Elliot Anderson, with Elliott needing just two touches before hammering the ball past Robin Roefs’ near post.
Harvey Elliott scored both goals as England made it through to their second consecutive Euros final
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The Netherlands would equalise with a spectacular long-range effort from Noah Ohio just moments after he entered the pitch.
Ohio, 22, caught England goalkeeper James Beadle out at his near post from an audacious 35-yard strike, curling around the young Brighton shot-stopper and nestling into the net.
Then, with just five minutes of normal time remaining, Elliott struck once more.
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Harvey Elliott's second came with just five minutes of normal time remaining
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This time weaving through a host of Netherlands defenders before unleashing a venomous strike from the edge of the area, arrowing into the bottom corner.
It was an indication of Elliott’s talent and ability to grab the game by the scruff of its neck and produce a true match-winning moment when his national team needed it most.
After the game, Elliott discussed the importance of having a fearless mentality, something that the senior team could certainly embody.
He said: “The moment we have fear is the moment that it goes wrong. I feel like we can take on any team and we go into every game thinking we can win because we have the players and the squad to do it.”
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The 22-year-old attributed this to his experience playing with hardened winners like Mo Salah and Virgil van Dijk at Liverpool.
He added: “At so many moments throughout the season the likes of Mohamed Salah has had to score important goals, winning goals.
“Towards the end of the season, Van Dijk came up and scored a header in the 90th minute.
“I think things like that, to not give up, to keep going to the final whistle and take these opportunities, I think that's leadership.
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“You can speak as much as you want on the pitch, you can say whatever, but at the end of the day when the moment comes and you need to show up, and you need to, for example, in my situation, score a goal."
Boss Lee Carsley, who had a short spell in charge of the senior team and gave debuts to former under-21 players such as Noni Madueke and Morgan Gibbs-White, was also keen to detail the importance of a confident mentality.
He explained: “We’ve got so much quality, but, more importantly, we’ve got a squad that believes that they can win.
“There’s more belief, which is important if we’re going to go that one step more, which is generally the hardest step now – getting over the line. But I’m so proud of them and hopefully everyone has enjoyed watching us during this tournament.”
England face Germany in the final on Saturday as they look to defend their Euros title.
The two have already played in the tournament, with Germany getting the better of England 2-1 last week.
Carsely, Elliott and co will be relying on the fearless mentality to get past a difficult German challenge and claim their second consecutive Euros title.
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