Lee Carsley full of praise as England Under-21s reach Euro 2023

Boss Lee Carsley praised his Young Lions after England Under-21s reached Euro 2023.

Folarin Balogun’s brace and Cameron Archer’s strike sealed a 3-0 win over Albania in Chesterfield on Tuesday to book their spot at next year’s tournament in Georgia and Romania.

The Young Lions cannot be overhauled by the Czech Republic at the top of Group G because of their superior head-to-head record, having beaten them twice.

They are three points clear and have two games left – with the Czech Republic only having one against Andorra on Monday – with England clinching a ninth-straight tournament qualification.

Carsley said: “I said it would be an achievement to qualify and we shouldn’t take it for granted. In the internationals I’ve been part of, as an assistant or a head coach, we’ve never had an easy game so it was important we treated every opposition with maximum respect.

“We have shown different sides to our game, we have shown resilience, that we can score goals and we can control games.

“If you think back to Andorra away (a 1-0 win), which was a massive result for us, there are a lot of positives to take, not just from tonight but the campaign as a whole.

“They have shown a lot of maturity in the way they have approached this camp. You have to bear in mind, half their mates are probably on holiday and I’m sure they’re getting updates but they are committed to playing for England.”

Angel Gomes hit the post early on after a slick moved ended with Ben Johnson crossing for the striker, while the outstanding Anthony Gordon twice tested Bruno Puja.

Joe Bursik almost gifted Albania an opener when he recovered after a miskick to save Arinald Rrapaj’s effort but that was as close as the visitors came.

They managed to frustrate the Young