Charlie Cresswell has issued a rallying cry to his England team-mates and urged them to squeeze every last drop out to beat Germany and win the Under-21 Euros.
Germany have been the team of the tournament so far, winning Group B – which included England – and have knocked off Italy and France en route to the final.
While England got ‘punched in the face’ against the Netherlands, Cresswell is confident the Young Lions can go back to back as Euros winners, provided they aren’t outworked by old foe Germany.
‘Just give your best,’ he said of his message in the dressing room.
‘If we win, we win. If we lose, we lose but no one’s going to say anything if you give 100 per cent.
‘Just give everything out there and then hold your head high.’
England Under-21’s centre back Charlie Cresswell (middle) is the vocal leader of this squad
While Cresswell doesn’t wear the captain’s armband he is the one that others rally behind; the vocal leader that is unrelenting in driving standards on the pitch for Lee Carsley.
‘I enjoy a battle! You know me! It was good,’ he said of edging past the Dutch, a game in which his error allowed Noah Ohio a chance to score a 40-yard stunner.
‘You know this team’s got character. We get punched in the face with a goal like that and then we came back and Harvey [Elliott] does his thing. So, yes, good mood, the feeling is great.’
Many of Cresswell’s formative summers were spent in the pub alongside his dad watching England’s senior side suffer heartache after heartache at major tournaments.
‘I was brought up with England always a massive part of my childhood,’ he said.
‘I’d go to the local pub and I’d be watching the first team with all my mates, my dad’s mates and it would be like a big deal.
‘So for me every time I pull on an England shirt it feels like an honour, a huge honour. I’m immensely proud that I get to do this.
‘For me to go out there and give my everything it’s the least I can do.’
He has outlined to team-mates that they must not be beaten for effort by Germany in the final
Given that, is there not an extra layer of pressure and responsibility he feels as a player now having suffered the heartache of a supporter in pubs up and down the country?
‘Maybe you’d say unfazed,’ he added.
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‘The seniors have done a great job. Playing for England… it’s not easy, you know, and people think England are going to steamroll most countries. It’s not easy.
‘There’s a pressure that comes with playing for England but it’s how you handle that pressure.
‘You’re going out there and it is just a game of football. I know you’re playing for your country but it’s just another game of football. It’s how you handle that pressure individually and collectively. Everyone’s different.’
Cresswell and Co now face a quick turnaround in recovery to prepare for Saturday’s final where, for the first time since the 1980s, England have the chance to go back to back as winners of this competition.
For those in the pubs up and down the country watching on, nobody will be able to question this group’s effort, not with Cresswell leading the way.
