England U21 defeated Spain U21 3-1 in the quarterfinals of the 2025 European U21 Football Championship with goals from McCarty, Elliott and Elliott Anderson, and secured a ticket to the semifinals. Elliott said that it would be a tough match against the Netherlands, and hoped that the team could achieve the goal of defending the title.

Alex Scott's corner kick in the 10th minute was cleared, and McCarty scored with a push in the melee, helping England U21 take the lead 1-0. In the 15th minute, Kwaanza took the ball to the outside of the penalty area and shot, but it was blocked by Spain U21 goalkeeper Ituber, and then Elliott stepped forward and shot low, helping England U21 continue to lead Spain U21 2-0.

In the 39th minute, Kwaanza brought down Spanish U21 midfielder Moreiro, and the referee awarded a penalty kick. Later, Xavi Guerra scored from the penalty kick, helping Spanish U21 to tie the game at 1-2.

In the second half stoppage time, Jonathan Rowe was knocked down by Spain U21 goalkeeper Ituber when receiving the ball, so England U21 was awarded a penalty kick. Subsequently, Oriot Anderson scored from the penalty kick, helping England U21 to expand their lead to 3-1.

In the end, England U21 defeated Spain U21 3-1 and successfully advanced to the semi-finals, where Lee Carsley's team will face the Netherlands U21.

Elliott, who plays for Liverpool, said, “This is incredible, I don’t know how to describe it. I said before the game that this game would be very difficult. The opponent will cause us a lot of trouble, but I think the players coped very well, whether it was facing pressure or fighting to the end after losing the ball. We fully deserve this victory.”

“Now is the time to celebrate but we have to start thinking about the semi-final. We have to go from game to game and not think too far ahead. Each team we play next is very strong and they deserve to be here. We have to recover and focus on the game against Holland, which will be a very difficult match.

In addition, McCarty, who also scored a goal, said in an interview, "We are of course very excited, but now the focus is on the semi-finals. Although we enjoy this victory, we must immediately shift our focus. Although we have advanced, we are also very clear that our previous performance was not good enough and we need to continue to improve. We started the game quickly and all my teammates are very satisfied."

"We know that the Netherlands is a strong team and it is no accident that they can advance to the semi-finals. We will take a break and then start preparing again."