Samuel Iling Jr and his England team-mates will compete in the UEFA Under-21 European Championship final on Saturday, after a 2-1 semi-final win over Ian Maatsen’s Holland.
The two Villans’ young sides faced off in Slovakia for a place in the final – in what was a repeat of the senior Euros semi-final last summer which saw Ollie Watkins net an unforgettable late winner for the Three Lions.
It was a similarly dramatic ending for Lee Carsley and his players on Wednesday night. After Liverpool’s Harvey Elliott had put England ahead just after the hour, Noah Ohio restored parity 10 minutes later.
But Elliot struck five minutes from time to send he and his team-mates into a second-successive final, where they will look to retain their crown having beaten Spain in the previous final two years ago.
Iling Jr was an unused substitute for the Three Lions, though Maatsen completed the 90 minutes for Michael Reiziger’s men in Bratislava.
Carsley’s charges will take on Germany in the final on Saturday night (ko 8pm), also in the Slovak capital.