Liverpool's Harvey Elliott scored two second-half goals as England came from behind to beat the Netherlands 2-1 in their European Under-21 Championship semi-final
Harvey Elliott arriving at a stadium before playing for England at the European Under-21 Championship
Harvey Elliott has starred for the England under-21s this summer
(Image: UEFA via Getty Images)
Harvey Elliott hopes his botched goal celebration has not jeopardised his chances of helping England retain their European Under-21 Championship title.
Elliott bagged a brace as the Young Lions won 2-1 against the Netherlands in their semi-final. However, after opening the scoring, his joy turned to pain just when his celebratory knee slide got stuck in the parched pitch past the hour mark.
Despite the mishap, Elliott soldiered on and propelled England within touching distance of consecutive titles with an 86th-minute decider, following Noah Ohio's equaliser for the Dutch.
Post-match, the Liverpool player told Channel 4: "I don't know what I've done to my knee, but it's bloody hurting, so hopefully it's nothing too silly.
"It's a silly decision from me [to do the knee slide], to be honest, but it's just one of them, live in the moment.
"You do these things, but I forgot the pitch was ridiculously dry, and it is the price I have got to pay." Paying that price will hopefully not mean missing Saturday's final against France or Germany.
"It's amazing," Elliott exclaimed when describing the winning feeling. A really tough game, but bloody hell, to win it, it's incredible.
"I can't put it into words. Another final, I know I keep saying it, but we need to rest, recover and go again, because it's not over yet.
"Tonight was another amazing experience, really tough conditions once again. But the way the lads dug deep, I think we deserve this final. It's just about recovering, resting and going again.
"It's been really tough preparation-wise. We had many players that had to drop out because of the Club World Cup, transfers and things like that. It's just one last push, and hopefully, we can be crowned champions again."
His head coach, Lee Carsley, singled Elliott out for particular praise. "The team were outstanding," he told Channel 4.
"The way we started the game was exciting, and disappointing to come in at half-time without scoring. Second half, we played with real resilience.
"We stood up and got over the line. We can really look forward to the final.
"Harvey Elliott and Charlie Cresswell didn't play a lot of minutes in the last campaign. We knew how important they would be – they have taken that on board, the responsibility of driving the rest of the squad.
"Harvey has been outstanding; he is one of many who have stood up. They're developing as a team and a squad; I think this team is outstanding."