- Demarai Gray reflects on England's UEFA U21 Euros Semi-Final defeat by Germany on Tuesday
- The Leicester City man scored in normal time but it is the Germans who face Spain in the Final
- Ben Chilwell also converted his spot-kick in a dramatic penalty shoot-out for England in Tychy
- Gray hopes the young Lions will be able to take a positive experience away from their summer
Demarai Gray admitted “it just wasn’t England’s night” after they were denied a place in the UEFA Euro U21 Championship Final by Germany in heartbreaking fashion on Tuesday evening.
The Leicester City winger scored in the first half of normal time as the young Lions drew 2-2 over 120 minutes of football in Tychy. However, two missed penalties in the shoot-out, by Tammy Abraham and Nathan Redmond, cost them dearly as Germany booked a place in Friday’s showpiece against Spain.
Gray’s City colleague, Ben Chilwell, converted his spot-kick but it wasn’t enough to see Aidy Boothroyd’s side reach their first Euro final since 2009. Reflecting on the nature of their exit from this summer’s tournament, the 21-year-old Foxes man stressed the importance of learning some worthwhile lessons.
“It’s obviously disappointing to go out the way we did,” he said. “If we were a bit more clinical in the first 20 minutes, we had a few chances, it would’ve been different, but it just wasn’t to be. We worked hard and we challenged them.
"On another day, we would’ve beaten them with the chances we created, so we were unlucky. That’s how it is sometimes. We were up and down and we’ve rode our luck at times and they’ve rode theirs. But it just wasn’t our night.”
Gray, who will report for Foxes training next month, had kind words for Redmond after his saved penalty cost England a chance of winning silverware this month: “I was gutted for Nath [Redmond] with the penalty. He’s been such a big influence on me so it’s hard to take, but we can come together and learn from it as a group.”