Charlie Cresswell saw his chance to underline his talents to Leeds United’s new head coach and he took it on Wednesday night. The Whites centre-back is currently on international as England U21s compete at the U21 European Championships in Romania and Georgia this summer.
The Three Lions have made it to the quarter-finals and they did so in style, topping their group with 2-0 wins coming over Czech Republic, Israel and Germany. Unfortunately, Cresswell didn’t feature in England’s first two games in the tournament after finding himself behind Levi Colwill and Taylor Harwood-Bellis in Lee Carsley’s pecking order.
But, with group winner status already in the bag, the U21s boss made changes to his side to face Germany, with Cresswell coming into the starting XI to collect his 10th cap at England youth level. Playing against the Germans can never be considered straightforward, but Cresswell more than stepped up to the plate to help keep their talented attacking line quiet.
New Brentford signing Kevin Schade, who has two full caps for Germany, led the line, while Angelo Stiller of Hoffenheim and Nelson Weiper completed the attack, but they struggled to break down an English backline that featured Cresswell at its heart. England will take on Portugal on Sunday for a place in the semi-finals and they’ll be feeling confident having built up plenty of momentum through the group stage.
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It remains to be seen, though, whether Cresswell has done enough to give Carsley food for thought going into that game. England’s progression ensures their tournament eats into Leeds' pre-season campaign, which also gets underway on Sunday, meaning the Leeds defender will miss the chance to return to West Yorkshire and make an early impression on the new coach.
But, in the days that follow his eventual appointment, the incoming chief will be keen to take a look at Cresswell’s talents and England’s win over Germany might be his first port of call. Such a performance will do the 20-year-old no harm at all in his pursuit of regular minutes at his boyhood club.
He passed the audition on loan at Millwall last season and he came through Wednesday night’s test with flying colours, too, to underline his potential to really kick on in the white of Leeds next season. Cresswell is one of two Leeds representatives left in the tournament following the conclusion of the group stage, with Illan Meslier’s France topping their own group.
Unfortunately, Meslier hasn’t been able to show what he can do after finding himself rooted behind Lucas Chevalier of Lille in the goalkeeper pecking order. The two nations are in different sides of the knockout bracket but there is a chance of the Leeds pair going head-to-head in the final, which will be played on July 8 in Georgia.
