It is the day before the European Championship final and while some players and staff are out exploring Bratislava for the final time, Lee Carsley is sat in the waterfront Sheraton hotel inspecting a list.
Specifically it’s a list of players who are going to be eligible for the Under-21’s at the 2027 Euros in Albania.
Carsley, a man who likes to move on quickly, is keen to see England stay ahead of their rivals. He is only expecting to grant himself a ‘couple of days off’ as a result.
‘The most important thing is the Under-21’s keep winning and keep producing players for the senior team along with the 17s and the 19s,’ he said.
‘We spoke a lot about leaving the shirt in a position where you could go for three. I’m definitely looking forward to that and it’s a great target to go for.’
Planning is important to Carsley. Preparations for this second successive Euros win was disrupted by an interim spell where he led the senior team, along with major absentees due to the Club World Cup drastically changing how this side would function.
England’s Under-21’s defeated Germany in a five-goal thriller to win back-to-back Euros
Alex Scott (left), along with Harvey Elliott and Jonathan Rowe (right), celebrated the victory
Savouring the moment is important for boss Lee Carsley – but so is succession planning
Liam Delap, Rico Lewis, Jobe Bellingham and Jamie Gittens all went to the Club World Cup. Adam Wharton, Jarrad Branthwaite and Taylor Harwood-Bellis missed out through injury. All seven were considered starters.
But savouring the moment is also important to the England boss, more so after a whirlwind two years on a personal level. That was his message to players before kick-off in the final – that this is merely a moment in time that will be gone in an instant. It needs to be cherished.
By the time they landed back in Birmingham following a 4am flight – it was pushed back by team ops when the game headed to extra-time – there had been a party back at the hotel with friends and family. Plenty of Czech pilsner beer was downed and Brighton’s Jack Hinshelwood proved the life and soul of the party.
The Sheraton hotel along the Danube river in Bratislava was England’s base throughout the entire tournament. It was within commute distance of Dunajska Streda and Nitra, where they played group games, and finishing runners-up in Group B meant they avoided a five-plus hour trip east to the city of Kosice.
It also meant that they could turn the hotel into something close to a home for the players and the staff.
There was a golf simulator available to players, a table tennis set-up as well as a darts board. A private barber was flown over to allow players to get fresh trims before games.
England took over one entire floor and Three Lions branding adorned various walls of meeting rooms as staff went above and beyond with key messaging.
Carsley and his staff were eager to give this England group plenty of rope to relax and every day players would go out together in bunches for a few hours to explore.
The friendship of Omari Hutchinson (left) and Ethan Nwaneri (right) helped drive up standards
Jack Hinshelwood was one of the most popular players during the camp out in Slovakia
Tino Livramento enjoyed whizzing around the city on lime bikes while third choice goalkeeper Tommy Simkin was a regular on a nearby padel court.
Omari Hutchinson and Ethan Nwaneri were very close throughout the tournament, pairing up in training and hanging out off the pitch too. Team sources spoke of the pair’s competitiveness in every aspect of their days, to the point where any and all activities involved them keeping score.
When it came to matches, Hutchinson’s razor sharp performances, which included a goal in the final, can, in part, be put down to the high levels Nwaneri helped push him to.
Many of the players explored the shopping centre attached to the hotel – which included high-end shops and a cinema – most days, while waterfront restaurants were popular places to unwind. Wagamama’s became the go-to place for players to hold team-bonding lunches.
The Asian restaurant became such a hit for players during this camp that the team chef tried to replicate the restaurant’s firecracker sauce for them on occasion.
Many of these players had never played together or had done so incredibly frequently in an Under-21 cycle that has seen so many players come in and out.
Team sources were loathe to pick out key individuals but did speak to the importance of camaraderie driven by captain James McAtee, who would often be seen around the hotel carrying a speaker blaring out Oasis.
Others praised Jonathan Rowe – the matchwinner in the final against Germany – for his ‘infectious’ personality, particularly when he lost his starting spot after the group stages. Ronnie Edwards, the only outfield player not to get a single minute of action all tournament, was Carsley’s unsung hero of it all.
The coaching improvement of Ashley Cole caught the eye of senior FA figures at the Euros
Carsley (second from left) delegated post-match debriefs to Cole (second from right)
Senior team boss Thomas Tuchel remained in regular contact and watched every U21 game
One of the biggest successes to come out of the tournament was the development of Ashley Cole as a coach.
Cole leads the post-match debriefs – Carsley prefers to look ahead, not back – and senior FA sources hailed the importance of the former Arsenal and Chelsea left back in helping deliver back-to-back titles.
Mail Sport was told that Cole proved highly motivational throughout the tournament to players and in the days leading up to the final he held court with players, who came armed with tons of questions.
Who is better, Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo? That was one.
Cole is meticulous and his work with the defenders, particularly at full back where Tino Livramento and Jack Hinshelwood both produced enormous displays at crucial times on a bumpy route to the final, proved integral.
In the final Cole was bellowing instructions at Hinshelwood and he got a response out of the Brighton man. One FA source even mused that this tournament has given them greater belief that Cole will eventually take a shot at being a No 1.
Along with Cole, Carsley was meticulous with his training and the base they set up at Samorin, a 30-minute drive outside of Bratislava, became a home from home.
It was decided that players would train during the hottest periods of the day to stress them ready for playing in 30-degree plus temperatures, which they did twice en route to victory. Afterwards many players could be seen sunbathing to unwind.
Body language tweaks helped players like Jarell Quansah take their game to the next level
The decision was made to train at the hottest times of the day to build up a toughness
Players needed lots of fluids and some even chose to sunbathe after training sessions
Training was fluid, too. One day there was a game of dodgeball while the next day it may have been a game of tag at the start of the session. On the very first day they invited in 180 local kids to have a kick-about on the pitch with players. Carsley’s staff were eager for things not to go stale.
But what was telling throughout this incredible run was the attention to detail. Even seemingly small factors such as body language came into play. Jarrell Quansah is said to have benefitted from this. He visibly became more dominant and confident in games as the tournament wore on.
All the while Thomas Tuchel was dialling in from the United States, watching every game. Tuchel sent messages of support to Carsley and was being briefed on the squad by FA technical director John McDermott before he flew through the night to be in attendance for the final.
After England downed his motherland, Tuchel was ‘giddy’ as he bounced into the dressing room.
‘He was delighted for everyone,’ Carsley told Mail Sport.
‘Massive hugs when everyone came through the door. So enthusiastic, as was Anthony [Barry], and I’m sure they’re both jet-lagged as well but the fact they are here, and the support we had prior and during the tournament, was much appreciated.’
There were so many keys to England’s back-to-back, giving players freedom to build relationships, tactical flexibility – which even saw centre back CJ Egan-Riley get his only minutes of the tournament as a centre forward late in the final – and man-management that was second to none.
A senior camp for a World Cup is naturally different but Tuchel can do a lot worse than pick Carsley’s brain ahead of next summer.
With two totally different squads, disrupted preparations and searing temperatures, Carsley found the formula… even if he and the players forgot to take the trophy with them when they left the stadium.
