IN years gone by, England would have been rattled by an early penalty miss and wilted to another hard-luck-story exit, had they somehow managed to make it this far.
But Lee Carsley’s Young Lions bear no resemblance to sides of the recent past.
And that is why they will go into Saturday’s Under-21s Euros final, their first for 14 years and only fourth ever, expecting to win and win in style.
England will face Spain after they came from a goal down to hammer Ukraine 5-1 in the later kick-off.
Morgan Gibbs-White has been one of a number of standout performers in this competition but fired a first-half spot-kick wide here.
He made up for it with an expertly-taken header to open the scoring just before half-time.
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And then Cole Palmer finished off yet another sensational England goal at this tournament to bury the Israelis after the break.
There was even time for sub Cameron Archer to grab his second strike of the tournament with an emphatic finish at the death.
Far from the Aidy Boothroyd teams who lacked ideas and crashed out at the group stage in the last two Euros, the invention of Carsley’s side was once again a joy to watch.
England had already netted three of the four tournament goals involving the most passes in the build-up.
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Those included Anthony Gordon’s effort against Israel in the group stage (21), Emile Smith Rowe’s from that game too (21) and their first goal of the tournament when Jacob Ramsey struck versus Czech Republic (18).
The build-up to Palmer’s killer strike here did not quite hit the same number but the clever play between Smith Rowe and Gibbs-White to create it was absolutely gorgeous.
Israeli fans were out in force with Tel Aviv just a two-hour, direct flight away, in contrast to the stop-off required in Istanbul for any England supporters keen to come.
Their attendance gave it the feel of a home game for Guy Luzon’s side, as their flag-waving followers raucously cheered their team, booed the opposition and let off a few blue smokebombs for good measure.
England expected a step-up from the comfortable 2-0 group win over the Israelis in Kutaisi and it was, though Luzon’s team once again happily sat back at all times.
It allowed Carsley’s side to dominate possession and with 15 minutes played they had three chances to take the lead, all in the same move, but failed to take any.
Pressure on keeper Tomer Tzarfati saw him surrender possession, allowing Emile Smith Rowe to shoot but his effort was cleared off the line.
The ball was recycled with Cole Palmer crossing for Smith Rowe again to have a shot, which was turned on to the post by Tzarfati.
Anthony Gordon seized on the loose ball and went down under a challenge from stocky full-back Karim Jaber and Danish ref Morten Krogh pointed straight to the spot.
A lengthy VAR check followed – the technology having been introduced at the knockout stage of this competition – but it eventually backed up the on-pitch decision.
Gibbs-White, who had scored a penalty against Croatia in March, sprinted anxiously to the spot before steering the ball wide of Tzarfati’s left-hand post.
Anyone following Israel’s path up to and including this tournament will have not been surprised by their goal’s charmed life from 12 yards though.
Luzon’s side won a shootout in a play-off against Republic of Ireland to reach these Euros, then another in the quarter-final win over hosts Georgia.
While Germany missed TWO spot-kicks in the group opener.
England looked a bit shaken after Gibbs-White’s miss and for a 20-minute period, it looked as if Israel might capitalise.
But in reality they hardly threatened, with Young Lions stopper James Trafford – soon to be of Burnley for £19million – not touching the ball in open play until the 39th minute.
Two minutes later, England had the lead thanks to a redemptive header from Gibbs-White.
Palmer, an intriguing pick over the dangerous Noni Madueke, sent in a gorgeous, inswinging cross that the Nottingham Forest star thumped over the helpless Tzarfati.
England saw out the final five minutes of the half with Levi Colwill pretty much just standing motionless with his foot on the ball, enticing the Israelis to close down – which they did not.
Luzon’s side showed little more ambition after the break and on 63 minutes the game was up.
England have scored some breathtaking goals in this tournament and this was right up there – even if it was VAR that saw it given.
Smith Rowe and Gibbs-White had some sensational interplay to attack the Israeli box ending in the Arsenal man squaring it across the six-yard area for Palmer to steer home.
The flag went up immediately but then video technology stepped in, and three-four minutes later, the goal was given.
Both sides knew the game was done at that point but there was still time for Palmer to cut back for sub Archer, who thundered the ball into the box.
England will face the winners of Mykhailo Mudryk’s Ukraine or Spain in the final.
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But with the way they are playing – and having still not conceded a single goal this tournament – they will surely fancy their chances of winning this tournament for the first time in 39 years.
It just feels so wonderfully different this time round.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
