Platt talks up England's chances

England coach David Platt said his side must believe they can win the UEFA European Under-21 Championship after beating the Netherlands 3-2 on aggregate and qualifying for the finals.

Carrick winner
Having drawn the first leg 2-2 in Utrecht, the Dutch were beaten by Michael Carrick's second-half goal for England, whose goalkeeper Chris Kirkland was superb on a busy night. A delighted Platt said afterwards: "We're into the European Championships now. We've got there so why not believe we can win it? I believe we can if we apply ourselves in the right manner."

Dutch in control
As in the first leg, the Dutch controlled the first half and looked more comfortable on the ball than their rivals and opened England up with increasing regularity. Remco van der Schaaf's header from a stunning run and cross by Rafael van der Vaart was blocked by Wayne Bridge, and the visitors again went close when Patrick Ax saw his shot pushed away by Liverpool FC's Kirkland.

Last-ditch tackle
The game opened up after the break with a flurry of chances for both sides. The Netherlands were unlucky not to go ahead when a low driven cross from Ax was hit first time by Van der Vaart, the most composed player on the pitch. Kirkland blocked, but the giant 20-year-old could not have known much about it. The game looked to be slipping away from the Dutch when Van der Schaaf lifted the ball over the England back line to Van der Vaart, who looked certain to score, but Ledley King made a last-ditch tackle and the chance was gone.

Work in vain
The Dutch suffered a setback when Mike Zonneveld was stretchered off 30 minutes into the second half. And the visitors' hard work was all in vain as England went ahead in the 76th minute. Shola Ameobi carved out space in the area and pushed the ball to Carrick, who drove home from close range.

More disappointment
The Dutch piled on the pressure as they went in search of a goal to keep their challenge alive, but Kirkland was defiant in the England goal and another Dutch disappointment was inevitable.

'Superb saves'
Netherlands coach Mark Wotte, appointed by Louis van Gaal who failed to guide the seniors to the 2002 FIFA World Cup, praised the outstanding efforts of Kirkland. "We're disappointed not to be going to the championships but we played very hard and I think we deserved more than what we got," he said. "We created a lot of excellent chances and might have won the game but for the goalkeeper [Kirkland] who made some superb saves."

Charmed life
Platt also felt the Dutch were unlucky not to breach England's rearguard, which led a charmed life at times. "We knew we weren't going to have an easy game and I thought they [the Dutch] played very well and perhaps deserved to have scored a goal," said the former England midfield player. "If you look at the chances they had they probably had more and better ones than us but I thought Chris Kirkland was exceptional in goal."

Ameobi praised
Goalscorer Carrick praised Newcastle United FC striker Ameobi, whose clever play led to his decisive goal. "It's not very often that I get into the box but I had a feeling Shola was going to pull it back and it was nice to score," said the West Ham United FC player. "Shola was magnificent. We're just glad that we've come out on top and qualified for the finals."