Talking Tactics: Cars the driving force behind Young Lions' Euros bid

Lee Carsley is on the brink of ending a 39-year wait for the England Under-21s. 

The Young Lions last reached the final of the European Under-21 Championship in 1984 when Dave Sexton's team beat Spain to successfully defend a title they also won in 1982. 

Now the nation's current crop of young footballers are on the brink of repeating history after a successful campaign in the 2023 tournament. 

Ahead of England's semi-final against Israel on Wednesday, we take a look at how Carsley has transformed an underachieving team into potential silverware winners. 

Impossible job

Carsley's predecessor Aidy Boothroyd spoke about the pressures of being the Young Lions coach towards the end of his tenure. 

He said: "I know the England senior job has been called the impossible job. I think the England U-21s job is the utterly impossible job. 

"The reason I say that is because of the amount of players that have to be produced for the senior team and the fact we are expected to win." 

Carsley is proving that the two requirements are not mutually exclusive. As with all U-21s managers, he has to deal with the frustration of the nation's top young talents being unavailable to him. 

Both Jude Bellingham and Bukayo Saka are young enough to be representing England at this European Championship. 

In addition, the manager suffered the blow of Folarin Balogun switching allegiance to play for the USA. 

Combined with the injury to Rhian Brewster, Carsley was faced with a striker shortage but managed to turn a potential weakness into a strength. 

Flash Gordon

Carsley has used Anthony Gordon in an unfamiliar central role to spearhead the attack alongside Morgan Gibbs-White in a 4-4-2 formation. 

The pairing combined for the decisive goal in the 1-0 quarter-final victory against Portugal. 

Gibbs-White found space in the area and pulled the ball to Gordon, with the Newcastle forward applying a convincing finish. 

It was a fourth successive victory in the tournament and the Young Lions are yet to concede a goal. 

Manchester City's James Trafford is impressing in goal, while the back four is being marshalled by Chelsea's Levi Colwill. 

Carsley was tasked with implementing a more attractive style of play than was the case under Boothroyd and he has built a fluid and flexible side. 

The 49-year-old has found creative solutions to problems when it comes to team selection, such as with his makeshift strike pairing and playing Everton midfielder James Garner at right-back. 

All's Will that ends Well

England defender Colwill has spoken out in praise of the job being done by Carsley. 

He said: "In my head when I'm on the ball, it's not like I'm a defender. I'm an attacker. 

"I'm helping my team attack and hopefully score. If I'm able to break lines and play into the No10, so we attack quicker, why can't I? 

"I think we all trust Cars so much. Like most top managers, he gives us the confidence to play your football. 

"That's what he wants, he wants you to play with freedom and express yourself. Hopefully we reward him and win this tournament." 

By nature, the U-21s squad is a transient group of players, where it is difficult to build continuity. Carsley seems to have created both unity and a winning mentality.