Aston Villa's Ezri Konsa confident after 'magical' Euros experience

The Villa defender impressed when stepping in for the suspended Marc Guehi for Saturday’s quarter-final win over Switzerland and is now hoping to keep his place when Gareth Southgate’s men take on the Netherlands tomorrow for a place in the final.

Konsa felt the outcome against the Swiss was “never in doubt” once the tie went to penalties and believes the Three Lions have the character to go even further.

“It depends on us,” he said. “If we continue to show that spirit and togetherness, I’m sure we can win it all.”

The quarter-final was just Konsa’s sixth England appearance and his first competitive start.

“It was a magical experience, something that I’ve dreamt about as a kid,” he said. “I’ve wanted to play in these games and I’m grateful to the gaffer for putting me in. The main thing is we got the win. It was a very emotional game today but we managed to do it.”

England eventually triumphed 5-3 in the shoot-out after the tie finished 1-1 after extra time.

Konsa continued: “It was never in doubt (with the penalties), especially with the boys who took them. They were very confident.

“It was something that we’ve been working on for quite a while now because you never know. We knew we were ready if it got to that and you could see it worked.”