Lee Carsley’s imperious England Under-21 stars are on the brink of greatness after reaching their first Euros final since 2009.
Manchester City kid Cole Palmer grabbed a goal and two assists and an opener from Morgan Gibbs-White saw off an unadventurous Israel in a one-sided semi final in Batumi, Georgia.
Sub Cameron Archer wrapped it up in injury time.
The quality of the Young Lions - transfer value calculated at around £440m - is steamrolling the opposition.
They are succeeding where others like former Under-21 tournament veterans Harry Kane, Phil Foden, James Maddison and John Stones failed, and could be the first English winners since 1984.
Carsley’s side have yet to concede in five games and 450 minutes of play. And they’ve produced patient but incisive, possession football to dominate and score 10 goals.
Nottingham Forest star Gibbs-White broke the dreadlock to send England on the way to the final against Spain or Ukraine.
He has been a stand out player for Carsley’s team, with three assists in the tournament, but this time he got the final touch.
The £40m midfielder produced a towering header from the penalty spot after Palmer pinged an in-swinging cross from deep.
Progress was assured when City winger Palmer tucked away at the back post in the 65th minute.
Driving force Gibbs-White surged and slid Emile Smith Rowe clear, and he crossed low to the back post for Palmer to squeeze in. It took two minutes for VAR to overturn the on-field decision that Smith-Rowe had been offside.
It could have been even more simple had Gibbs-White not missed a spot kick from 12 yards. England should have got off to a flier, but for a series of misses.
Even when behind, Israel sat back and refused to press, allowing England ludicrous amounts of time on the ball, sometimes even standing still.
At several points it resembled old man’s walking football, not a youth tournament, as Levi Colwill stood unchallenged for ages.
Keeper Tomer Tzarfati was hassled into an error which presented Smith Rowe with a great chance. His initial shot was blocked. The Arsenal man was handed a second effort from the rebound and his shot was saved onto the post.
As Anthony Gordon retrieved the ball on the byline he was tripped by Karem Jaber and Danish ref Morten Krogh awarded a penalty.
A lengthy VAR check gave kick taker Gibbs-White plenty of time to think, and when he struck the ball it flew badly wide.
England dominated possession, with Israel banking up letting Young Lions defenders have the ball, which provoked whistles from some of the neutrals in the crowd.
England have won this tournament twice in 1982 and ‘84, and the role of honour from those teams reads like a bygone era of long retired stars including Gary Mabbutt, Steve McMahon and Adrian Heath and Mark Hateley.
This was England’s tenth Euro Under-21 semi final, the last was in 2017, but they were head and shoulders better than their opponents, technically and physically. Little wonder Israel sat off, because when they challenged, England’s kids largely retained the ball.
