Harvey Elliott spectacularly fired England Under-21s into the European Championship final as they moved one win away from becoming back-to-back champions.
One year on from the men’s senior team beating the Netherlands in the Euros semi-final, the Young Lions followed suit, with Elliott’s second-half double earning a 2-1 win in Bratislava.
The 22-year-old, a Premier League champion with Liverpool, scored both goals, first putting his side ahead just after the hour and then firing a superb 86th-minute winner after Noah Ohio had levelled for the Dutch with his first touch.
Lee Carsley’s side will meet Germany or France in Saturday’s final when they will hope to retain the crown they won two years ago.
Victory was fully deserved in searing heat in Slovakia as they were the better team throughout, with the Dutch goal coming out of nothing.
Carsley’s men almost took the lead in the fourth minute. Omari Hutchinson caused trouble down the left and sent in a low cross to Elliott at the far post, but the midfielder’s low shot was brilliantly saved by the outstretched leg of Dutch goalkeeper Robin Roefs.
Roefs denied Elliott again in the 12th minute as England piled the pressure on, again staying big to deny a low shot after Jay Stansfield’s cut back.
The Young Lions stayed on top but the chances dried up until a brilliant move just before the break, when James McAtee set Hutchinson free, he played in Elliott whose cut back was perfect for Alex Scott, but the Bournemouth midfielder’s shot was deflected over.
The Netherlands, who failed to have a shot in the first half, improved after the break and began asking questions.
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They tested James Beadle for the first time just before the hour when Aston Villa full-back Ian Maatsen drilled a 25-yard shot through a crowd of bodies, but the goalkeeper was equal to it.
Just as England were being pushed back, they went ahead in the 62nd minute. Elliot Anderson set Elliott clear, he advanced into the box and fired a fine right-footed finish in at the near post.
But the advantage was short-lived as Ohio made the perfect impact from the bench.
Moments after coming on, the former Manchester United and Manchester City academy player scored with his first touch. He latched on to the ball after Charlie Cresswell miscontrolled, spotted Beadle out of position and shot first time from the left wing into the near post.
But England were not going to be denied and some Elliott heroics sent them into the final for just the second time since 2009. He picked the ball up 30 yards out, turned his marker, beat another man and advanced towards the penalty area before whipping a low shot into the bottom corner.
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