Lee Carsley has revealed he has received plenty of support from Thomas Tuchel ahead of England Under-21’s crunch clash against Germany.
Carsley’s side need a point to progress to the quarter-finals and while senior boss Tuchel hasn’t offered up any tips or tricks to down his birth nation, Carsley praised the German’s support from back home.
‘No insider tips but like I said he’s very supportive of the players and the squad and I know that he’s watching the players and the games,’ Carsley said.
‘Hopefully we can give him something to ponder in terms of the way that some of the players’ reputations are hopefully gaining momentum.
‘He’s watching the games, as are the rest of the staff, and I feel very well supported by him.’
Victory in Nitra on Wednesday night would see England top Group B but to do that they need to overcome a Germany side boasting the tournament’s top scorer in Nick Woltemade, who has four goals through the opening two games.
Lee Carsley (left) has had messages of support from Thomas Tuchel (right) during the Euros
England Under-21’s need a point to ensure safe passage to the quarter-finals of the Euros
‘The centre forward is getting a lot of attention at the moment,’ Carsley said.
‘He’s scoring and he’s a player that we’re looking forward to playing against.’
What is of greater importance to Carsley is for his players to be brave and show their best selves.
‘We talk about them having personality on the ball,’ he added.
‘It’s really important in the biggest moments and in the biggest games that’s what we are trying to prepare these players for. To hopefully go on and have senior careers they have to be able to handle these kind of experiences and situations, so I feel like we are capable of that.’
Leadership has been one of the biggest talking points for Carsley and observing this group in close quarters from their training base in Samorin, just outside of Bratislava, it is noticeable how quiet it is.
Charlie Cresswell, who was part of the 2023 Under-21 side that won the Euros in Georgia, is particularly vocal on the pitch, as is goalkeeper James Beadle and midfielder Elliot Anderson.
‘I feel I’ve always been vocal,’ Anderson said. ‘I can be quiet off the pitch, but once I’m on it, I change. It’s a good thing.’
For Carsley, he cannot breed a leader but instead the challenge for him and his staff is to try and coax out those qualities if they are in the background.
On Wednesday night they will come up against tournament top scorer Nick Woltemade
Carsley is more focused on his own players and wants them show ‘personality’ on the pitch
‘We have to give these players chance to become experienced and become vocal,’ he explained.
‘We try and encourage them to drive it as much as we can. I think we try and give them a platform, give them chance to grow.
‘If we are always on top of them, disrupting them and giving them information, it dilutes what they’re doing. We need more leaders, we 100 per cent do, I think every team does.
‘I’m thinking back to when I was playing and you always seemed to have what we haven’t got. We haven’t got an older pro in the team that sort of, his legs have gone but he can talk you through the game.
‘They are all the same age and all at that level but where we are lucky is they all play at clubs where they have got senior players that are showing them good examples and good leadership and hopefully they can take that and bring it here.
‘I don’t think you can [breed a leader], no. I think you can guide.’
England go into Wednesday night’s crucial final Group B against Germany sat second on four points, knowing they simply need to match or better Slovenia’s result against Czech Republic to progress, where one of Spain or Italy awaits.
