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Harvey Elliott has been waiting for a moment to explode.
So much of his season was littered with frustration at Liverpool. Major highs – scoring the winner against Paris Saint-Germain chief among them – followed by long stretches watching from the bench. On the pitch after the final game he was in floods of tears as his family consoled him.
But here in the searing temperatures of Bratislava it was Elliott, tasked with the responsibility to be the main man, who rose to the occasion to fire England into back-to-back Under-21 Euros finals.
The kisses he blew and the heart signs he made to those same family members after his two goals told a story of resilience and redemption.
For a moment it looked like Jude Bellingham’s best friend Noah Ohio, who played for England at Under-16 level and was on the books at Manchester United and Manchester City as a kid, was ready to spoil the day after scoring spectacularly from 40 yards.
But Lee Carsley said all through a testing group stage where England won just one game that he knows big players will produce big moments and Elliott served up two of his finest to secure England’s spot in Saturday’s finale.
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‘Harvey was outstanding,’ Carsley said. ‘I think he’s definitely grown as the tournament’s gone on.
‘He’s a threat in front of goal, which we all always knew. He’s definitely got assists in his arsenal as well and hopefully he can continue that in the final.’
This is an important tournament for Elliott and he is vitally important to Carsley and England as one of only two players in this squad that was part of the victorious 2023 group that was untouchable in Georgia.
That group never conceded a goal and won every game. This group is much changed and has been put under significant duress in this far-from-breezy title defence.
Carsley made just one enforced change to the side that swept Spain aside in the quarter-final, replacing the suspended Tyler Morton with Elliot Anderson in midfield.
England’s plan was obvious from the off here and a clear sign of learning from the group game against Slovenia where they faced similar temperatures: dominate the ball.
In the 33-degree heat Carsley’s players made the Netherlands do all of the early running and they almost had the breakthrough inside four minutes.
Omari Hutchinson, England’s best player in the first half, drove purposefully down the left to attack Dutch right back Neraysho Kasanwirjo, identified pre-match as the weak link. It was little surprise to see the full-back put out of his misery and hooked at half-time.
Hutchinson beat his man and his low, driven cross found an unmarked Elliott at the back post. His snapshot to the near post was brilliantly saved by the feet of Robin Roefs. It was David de Gea-esque in style.
The big story of the half was less Roefs and the Netherlands’ not having a single shot on target and more the heat, sucking the life out of the half and the energy in the stands as many sought refuge in the concourses.
That lethargy evaporated in a 10-minute spell where Anderson teed up Elliott to open the scoring with a piledriver on his right foot.
But if that one caught the eye substitute Ohio went one better by scoring with his first touch from 40 yards after a miscued touch from Charlie Cresswell and some lax positioning off his line from James Beadle opened the door for the Dutch.
The Netherlands rallied from there, buoyed by the fact they could sense frustration creeping into England’s play, only for Elliott, who eventually left in stoppage time to a standing ovation, produced his own Ollie Watkins moment.
‘We’ve got so much quality,’ Carsley added.
‘But more importantly, we’ve got a squad that believe that they can win. There’s not a lot of hope, there’s more belief, which is important if we’re going to go that one step more, which is generally the hardest step now, to get over the line.’
Watkins downed the Dutch senior side with a 91st-minute winner in Dortmund 350 days ago and here was Elliott, minute 85, with a weaving run to the edge of the box before drilling into the corner to send the Netherlands packing.
Arms outstretched as he soaked up the adulation. Elliott said this was a big summer for him and here he was centre stage playing a starring role to get England to within 90 minutes of back-to-back titles.
