With McCarty, Elliott and Elliott Anderson scoring, England U21 defeated Spain U21 3-1 in the quarterfinals of the 2025 European U21 Football Championship and successfully advanced to the semifinals. Lee Carsley said that the team still has a lot of potential and must continue to improve.

Alex Scott took a corner kick in the 10th minute, and McCarty pushed the ball into the goal 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 Spanish U21 goalkeeper Ituber. Then Elliott, who plays for Liverpool, took the opportunity to step forward and shot low, helping England U21 continue to lead Spain U21 2-0.

In the 39th minute, Spanish U21 midfielder Moreiro was knocked down by Kwaansa when he received the ball and attacked. The referee awarded a penalty kick. Later, Xavi Guerra scored a penalty kick to help Spanish U21 tie the game 1-2.

In the second half stoppage time, Jonathan Rowe was tripped by Spain U21 goalkeeper Ituber when he tried to receive the ball, and 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 obtained a ticket to the semi-finals.

England U21 coach Lee Carsley said, "We played very well in the first half. Some players performed very well and they should be proud of themselves. We always emphasize offense and sometimes ignore the other side of the game. The two central defenders, goalkeeper and back line defended very well in the penalty area. The only flaw was the penalty, but we responded well and it was a deserved victory."

England to face Netherlands in semi-final

"Jay Stansfield performed very well in training, and I have always emphasized the need to manage the players' playing time, because playing a game every three days is a huge challenge for anyone. This is one of the reasons why we did not start Elliot Anderson, we must protect him. He is an important member of our advancement to the semi-finals, and we are looking forward to his next performance."

Lee Carsley said, "The most important thing is that this cannot be our peak performance. This should not be our ultimate goal, because it will be more exciting later. Fortunately, we now have an extra day of rest. We can't wait to participate in the semi-finals."

"I've said this team will have tacit understanding. In the past, we only had this reaction in some parts, but I think we performed very well in 75% of the game time. Even outstanding. More importantly, we still have the potential to improve and can continue to improve on this basis."

In addition, England U21's opponent in the semi-finals is the Netherlands U21, which defeated Portugal in the quarter-finals.

Lee Carsley said, "We have been following the Netherlands for almost six months. During the training period, one of our jobs is to study the strongest opponents, and I will definitely put the Netherlands in this category. They are a very dynamic team. We will be fully prepared and look forward to the confrontation with them."