England Under-21s boss Lee Carsley thinks fans will be watching “exciting games” at the Euros this summer following their 4-2 friendly victory over Portugal at The Hawthorns.
The Young Lions were involved in another thriller following Friday’s 5-3 defeat to France.
Hayden Hackney and Ethan Nwaneri had England two goals to the good before Fabio Silva got Portugal on the scoreboard.
Omari Hutchinson and Jaden Philogene then scored either side of Carlos Borges’ strike as England came away with one victory from the international window.
Carsley will next see his side in action at the European Under-21 Championship this summer and thinks there will be plenty to be excited about.
He said: “We won’t play a game before we go out to the tournament so it was important that we tried to get something out of this window.
“We could have won that game really comfortably, played with a lot more control than we did, but it’s the first time that myself and the staff have worked with the players in a year so excited for the future with them.
“We are a bit transitional and a bit ‘basketbally’ which won’t work in the summer. Because they’re so attacking and enthusiastic I don’t want to dampen that too much because I don’t think we’ve got enough English players like that.
“I think you’re going to see some exciting games and hopefully I want them to play with that belief.”
Nwaneri has been impressive for Arsenal this season and showed what he can do in England colours as it took him just 10 minutes to open his Under-21s account on his full debut.
Carsley added: “It’s definitely a finish he’s got. Everyone knows exactly what’s going to happen but you cannot stop it.
“He took his goal so well but we have to keep remembering he’s 18, unbelievable isn’t it?
“But what an impression he has made, it’s important we look after him.”
England will go into the summer’s tournament with a real chance of retaining their crown but Carsley knows the competition is also just as tough.
He said: “I think we’ve got a really good chance regardless of the squad we take.
“We’ve got some outstanding talent but we forget Spain are quite good as well, Italy are good and Portugal are good and we have to be respectful of that.”
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