POISON PENS
England kids’ heartbreak
AIDY BOOTHROYD watched England’s penalty curse strike yet again and then said: We need more practice!
Nathan Redmond and Tammy Abraham both had spot-kicks saved in the European Under-21 semi-final shoot-out as the Young Lions lost to Germany.
Boothroyd, who made his squad practise penalties every day, admitted he was at a loss to explain it.
The Under-21s boss said: “Obviously we’ve got to keep practising penalties.
“With all the practice we have done, their goalkeeper made two very good saves. We have done everything we can about penalties. I don’t honestly know. We learned lots
of lessons from the past, and worked on penalties, but the fatigue, the energy expended. We fancied ourselves and we are very disappointed.”
England fought back from Davie Selke’s opener to lead with goals from Demarai Gray and Abraham, only to concede an equaliser by Felix Platte.
But Julian Pollersbeck’s two big penalty saves made the difference – after the German referred to notes on each taker he kept in his sock.
Boothroyd said: “We had an iPad. At least we won that battle. We had some technology and they didn’t.
“We are absolutely gutted. It’s a mixture of being sick of losing on penalties after going so close, but also very pleased.
“This is not just one game. A lot of hard work went into this tournament, a lot of players have given everything.
“I said I’d be irritated if we went out, but the amount of effort we put in and, to be fair, Germany were good.
“We went behind and came back into the game, and thought it was our day. I fancied our chances strongly.”
Germany boss Stefan Kuntz said: “You can’t practise pens. You can’t recreate the atmosphere. With regards to preparation, Julian told us if he believes a shooter is very self-confident, he was going to pick a side and if he doesn’t, he will concentrate on the ball.”
Jordan Pickford, who saved one himself and got close to the final German kick, said: “We gave it our all, which is all you can ask for. I was relaxed during the shoot-out. The fifth one only just beat me. We can hold our heads up high.”