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England and Spain’s Under-21s clash descended into chaos on Saturday night as their stars sparked a scuffle after Lee Carsley’s men won 3-1.
A large mass of players came together at the end as tempers flared but team-mates and officials worked to keep any handbags to a minimum.
Spain striker Mateo Joseph looked particularly vexed at England star Charlie Cresswell before Jay Stansfield intervened, in footage filmed by Mail Sport’s Nathan Salt.
While it was unclear what caused the brawl, Cresswell had a handball decision against him overturned by VAR a few minutes into the game, a call which had left Spain furious.
James McAtee and Harvey Elliott bagged inside the first 15 minutes to put England on course for victory.
But Spain were handed a lifeline from the penalty spot when Jarell Quansah brought down Alberto Moleiro late in the first half – a chance Javi Guerra lapped up.
However, Elliot Anderson converted a late penalty late penalty to wrap up the win and seal a last-four showdown with the Netherlands as England seek to retain their title.
On the brawl, Carsley said: ‘I think there are better ways to build camaraderie! But I think awe had something similar in the final [two years ago].
‘Emotions run very high and in those kinds of scenarios you don’t want anyone to get sent off, anyone to throw a punch or get themselves in trouble. You try and be as respectful to both sides but you can see how much it means to the players.
‘To represent your country in a quarter-final, it means a lot. We probably have to give them a bit of leeway.
‘Thankfully it didn’t go over the top but it’s still not nice to see. We are always trying to fly the flag and encourage younger players especially to take up football and enjoy the game… but the passion was just a bit much.’
England captain McAtee said: ‘I never saw the challenge, I saw the boys start going into it, so always going in to help. It’s part of football, and you just have to stick together as a team.
‘It’s a big game, we know that. It’s two big teams in the tournament, so them kicking off, we can’t sit back and just let them do it, we have to give them a bit back, so I am happy with the boys.’
More to follow.
