England Under-21 star Charlie Cresswell has lifted the lid on Lee Carsley’s half-time hairdryer against Germany and outlined why a repeat against Spain would be game over for their Euros title defence.
Carsley dished out some home truths to his players after an abject first half where Germany, who finished as winners of Group B, raced into a 2-0 lead to put England to bed.
Asked what a ticked-off Carsley said to his team at the break, Cresswell said: ‘Show some fight, you’re playing for England, let’s run harder than them, work harder than them’.
‘I just was saying to the lads ‘just smash into them, let them know they’re in a game’.
‘We showed that in the second half, but we’ve got to take that into the next game. That’s the thing with European competitions, you get punished [if your level drops] and you’ve got to be at your best.’
England were much improved in the second half in Nitra and scored through midfielder Alex Scott to reduce the arrears to a 2-1 defeat.
But it was a performance pockmarked with problems, not least the lack of physicality, an area they will have to win if they are to have any chance in their quarter-final against Spain on Saturday night.
‘Spain next it’ll be a good game, a new challenge, and I’m looking forward to it,’ Cresswell added.
‘Spain are a top side. The first team as well, it runs through their system. You know when you play against Spain what they’re going to be like. They’re going to pass it around and try to make you move.
‘But we’ve got to stand strong and take the game to them because we’ve got quality in that [dressing] room. We know we can beat them.’
Team-mate Omari Hutchinson, who was central to the second half improvement versus Germany, echoed Cresswell’s sentiments.
‘We want to be dominant,’ he said. ‘We’re going to have to try to take that away from them. We can be physically better than them. We’ve just got to physically outrun them and take them to the final whistle.
‘Cars is big on that. He said last time they played each other it was a tough game for the Under-21s. Obviously they won it but we just want to be able to dominate and win by two goals really.
‘It’s probably my biggest game for England so I’m looking forward to it.’
Saturday night could well be 22-year-old Cresswell’s final game in an England shirt and with family making the trip out to Slovakia for Saturday’s Spanish showdown, Cresswell’s message to his team-mates is clear: don’t let this moment pass you by.
‘I said to the lads today, it doesn’t get better than this,’ Cresswell explained.
‘You’re playing for England Under-21s against Germany and next will be against Spain. It doesn’t get better than this.
‘We’ll look back on this time and want to live this point again so it’s important we stay right here right now and enjoy every moment.’
