England’s Euro performance should inspire Young Lions, says Carsley ahead of game Milton Keynes

Lee Carsley hopes his England U21s squad can take inspiration from Gareth Southgate’s senior side following their Euro 2020 exploits, starting with a win over Kosovo at Stadium MK on Tuesday night.

The Young Lions take to the pitch at MK1 for the 7pm game, kicking off their Euro 2023 qualification campaign.

England narrowly missed out on lifting the Euro 2020 trophy, losing out on penalties to Italy in July, but have gone on to win their subsequent two World Cup qualifiers 4-0 against Hungary and Andorra respectively.

Carsley hopes his squad can look at Southgate’s senior squad and see it as a source of motivation to put in their best performances for the Young Lions.

“We're hoping we can continue the momentum the senior squad created in the summer - that has been great for us,” he said. “I hope our players can be inspired by that and want to get to that level. They're one step away from that so we have to keep pushing them.

“We've got some really exciting players and I hope we can create a platform for them to perform their best.”

SEE THE ENGLAND U21S SQUAD HERE

For Carsley, Tuesday night’s game represents his first competitive outing in charge of the side, and he hopes a supporting Stadium MK crowd can get behind his side.

He added: “I'm really privileged to be U21s coach, it's a prestigious position and we've had some great coaches who have taken the team in the past.

“I'm really looking forward to it. I've been lucky enough to be here a few times, watching games and coaching.

“The games we've had here have been really good, we've scored a few goals and put on a good show for the fans and hopefully that can continue.”