England Under-21 manager Lee Carsley has firmly dismissed any notion of his team being underdogs as they prepare for their Euro 2025 quarter-final showdown against Spain. The match, set to take place on Saturday in Trnava, Slovakia, is a rematch of the 2023 final where England emerged victorious with a 1-0 win, marking their first European Championship title since 1984.

This year, defending champions England finished second in Group B following a 2-1 defeat by Germany, while Spain remained unbeaten and topped Group A. Despite the setback, Carsley remains optimistic about his team's chances. "I don't feel like an underdog. If we can perform and play to our ability, we've got a great chance of winning the game," he stated.

Carsley, 51, expects to have a fully fit squad as all players participated in Friday's training session in Slovakia. The team has created the third most chances in the tournament but has scored the second lowest number of goals among the remaining teams. Carsley acknowledged the challenge ahead, particularly against a formidable Spanish side.

"I believe Spain are a top team and anyone who was with us in the last few Euros knows you have to beat all of the top teams," Carsley added. "Spain are another team I've got a lot of respect for, the final we had a couple of years ago was so close. It could have gone either way. We scored a fortunate goal and played OK in the game but there's definitely a lot more to come from us if we're going to progress."

Carsley emphasized the importance of persistence and belief in their strategy. "Obviously the most difficult thing is to score a goal and maybe we just need that little bit of luck, we need a scruffy one. The main thing is we keep creating the chances, we keep running to the areas, we have that belief that it's going to drop and I think we can do that."

As England prepares for this crucial match, the focus remains on leveraging their strengths and maintaining their competitive edge against a top-tier opponent like Spain.