Piece of cake for kid Baker
Lewis Baker has warned England’s Under-21s don’t fear anyone as they prepare for their Euro semi-final.
The Chelsea midfielder reckons Aidy Boothroyd’s Young Lions are growing in confidence and are ready to ‘achieve something big’.
Baker, who spent last season on loan at Dutch side Vitesse Arnhem, wants his own piece of glory after seeing the Under-20 side win the World Cup this month.
He said: “We will have no fear, definitely.
“I think the pressure has come off us a little bit now because we got through the group stages and into the semi-finals.
“But I know the boys want to go as far as we can and we’re all looking to achieve something big.
“We’ve all got belief in each other and it’s a real team effort.”
Boothroyd’s men had a stuttering start, drawing 0- 0 with Sweden and losing at half- time to Slovakia before winning 2-1 and then seeing off hosts Poland 3- 0.
Baker said: “When you start playing more and more the momentum builds as well as the confidence.
“We’ve started playing like we know we can. We proved that against Poland.”
England could meet Spain in the final. They have been the outstanding team so far, beating Macedonia, Portugal and Serbia and scoring nine goals.
Baker said: “We watched Spain. They’re a good team but we will just focus on ourselves and what we can control. They were playing in a different group.
“The main thing was to get through the group stage and now we’re in the semis.
“Whatever the manager thinks is the best formation that is what we will go with. But I like to do a bit of both defending and attacking.”
England have not been to a Euro Under-21 semi-final since 2009 when they lost the final to Germany under gaffer Stuart Pearce.