Liverpool midfielder Curtis Jones was again impressive for England under-21s as they comfortably beat Isreal to book a place in the European Championships final on Wednesday night.
Jones, who has been deployed in a slightly deeper, more central role for the young England side, caught the eye for his calm and composed play on the ball, keeping possession impressively.
Goals from Morgan Gibbs-White – who had earlier missed a penalty, Cole Palmer and Cameron Archer secured the win, with England to face either Ukraine or Spain Saturday’s final.
Liverpool’s other member of the squad, Harvey Elliott played the final 16 minutes, replacing Emile Smith Rowe.
Jones’ performance in the middle though, earned him the UEFA Under-21 Player of the Match award.
Another classy performance, @curtisjr_10 ? pic.twitter.com/u1hVdgym84
— England (@England) July 5, 2023
The 22-year-old scouser enjoyed a renaissance at the end of last season for Liverpool, starting all of the Reds’ final 11 games of the season in the left midfield berth.
It wasn’t just Liverpool fans who noticed his performance for England, with fans of other clubs also taking to Twitter to highlight the Reds’ No.17.
Extremely easy win for England u21’s. Israel were shocking though. Motm was Curtis Jones for me. This team should go on to win it https://t.co/hvgGeMqYaO
— Adama (@WolvesNumber37) July 5, 2023
https://twitter.com/PLDatabase/status/1676650723814023172
Curtis Jones has been immense in the England midfield today. Always calm, never gives the ball away. Quality ? #U21EURO #ISRENG
— Derek Xavier Morriss (@DerekXMorriss79) July 5, 2023
Curtis Jones is looking a tidy player, i have written him off a few times and to caveat it is a under 21’s tournament but he looks quite mature. Interesting to see what he does.
— Kenny Robinson (@Kennyllorente) July 5, 2023
If Curtis Jones could carry this arrogance into his game when he plays for us we wouldn't need to sign anyone. Could be as good as anybody if he believes in himself #Baller
— Barrie Devlin (@bazdev) July 5, 2023
With increased competition for places following the arrivals of Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai, Jones – and indeed Elliott – will now face an interesting dilemma whether to return to pre-season training early or take the full three weeks off that they would usually receive.
Liverpool’s non-internationals report for testing at the AXA Training Centre on Saturday, while those players involved in internationals this summer report next Tuesday before flying to Germany for an early summer training camp.
Fan Comments