Carsley targets third straight U21 European title with wins over Kazakhstan and Slovakia

Lee Carsley says victories over Kazakhstan at Wolves' Molineux Stadium on Friday and against Slovakia next week will secure England Under-21s a place at Euro 2027 as he pursues a third successive European Under-21 Championship. England have already won back-to-back tournaments under Carsley and sit atop Group D.

Carsley remains without a portrait on the walls at St George's Park despite his under-21 successes; the corridor is lined with framed photographs of every senior England manager from Walter Winterbottom to Sam Allardyce. He briefly stood in charge of the senior side for six games after Gareth Southgate's departure, but has prioritised continuing with the Young Lions as he aims for another title rather than moving into club management.

England's recent run includes consecutive tournament victories in 2023 and 2025. The 2023 triumph came in Georgia and Romania, with victory over Spain in the final, and last summer's defence was sealed in extra time against Germany in Bratislava courtesy of Jonathan Rowe's strike.

Carsley underlined his longer-term ambitions and current standing with the squad, saying: "The older you get, you want to leave a legacy, don't you?" He said, with England top of Group D and three points clear of Slovakia. "There would have been an easy move, after the first win, to go and do club management and go and accept a few of the offers. "But I enjoy the job I'm doing and I enjoy that I'm part of a bigger quest to win a major tournament. I want to be part of the FA when we do that."

On the burden of expectation, Carsley said: "I think we have to embrace that," said the former Everton and Derby midfielder. "They come to play for the under-21s, you're back-to-back champions. There's a bullseye that goes with that. We have to be aware of that and go for it. "The expectancy, we'll just get through the group and then we'll win the quarters, we'll win the semis and then we'll just win the final... it's very difficult. "My priority is definitely qualifying and then that's something I'll think about."

England began qualifying with a 2-0 win in Kazakhstan last September and have not played since beating Moldova in March. The Young Lions host Slovakia in Stoke on 2 October before travelling to Cork to finish Group D against Ireland four days later; they have won six of their seven qualifying matches but required an injury-time Rico Lewis penalty to salvage a 1-1 draw in Andorra in March. The current squad includes recognisable names such as Tottenham's Archie Gray and Dortmund's Jobe Bellingham.

Past England Under-21 squads have produced senior internationals, notably the 2023 group that contained Cole Palmer and Anthony Gordon, while Noni Madueke — who featured in this year's World Cup — did not make the starting XI. Leeds goalkeeper James Trafford and Cole Palmer were both part of the Euro 2023-winning side.

The pathway to recent success was not straightforward: England only topped Group F in Euro 2025 qualifying by a single point, needing two late goals from James McAtee to beat Ukraine in the penultimate fixture before beating Azerbaijan 7-0 and benefitting from Ukraine's 1-0 loss to Serbia to finish top of the group. Historically, only Italy have won three consecutive U21 tournaments, in the 1990s, and that run did not occur under the competition's current 16-team format.

Carsley has warned against complacency: "We can't just be arrogant and think, we'll just turn up, we've got better players," he said. "We've got to make sure we constantly make these players aware we are a big scalp, this is a chance for them to make a big deal in their own country, so it's important mentally and physically you're ready to challenge. "It's very difficult to qualify. I've never known an easy qualification process, but sometimes you forget - when you're on the pitch and you've got the trophy in your hands - the journey you've gone on to get there." England's immediate task is to beat Kazakhstan at Molineux on Friday and then host Slovakia in Stoke on 2 October as they seek to clinch qualification for Euro 2027.