Redmond apologetic following England’s Under-21s Euro exit

Southampton forward Nathan Redmond has issued a heartfelt apology to the England faithful following the Young Lions’ penalty shoot-out loss to Germany at the semi-final stage of the European Under-21 Championships.

The 23-year-old missed the crucial penalty kick of the game which saw England crash out via a 4-3 defeat.

Redmond and co. had battled through most of the game as they held onto a 2-2 scorelinefor 120 minutes under the immense pressure from their German counterparts. Eventually, two of England’s best players in Tammy Abraham and Redmond missed their spot-kicks which guaranteed Germany a route to the final against Spain.

The former Birmingham and Norwich winger was distraught and in tears following the Tuesday night result, but he appeared to have overcome some of his disappointment while releasing a heartfelt apology on Twitter, he wrote: “Gutted to have lost the semi-finals last night on pens! Sorry. I will continue to keep learning from these experiences and try to improve as a player every day as usual.There is work to do and I’m OK with the mental and physical challenges that lie ahead. It’s sad to close a chapter on my England youth team football in that way but I’ve gained more than I’ve lost from the U16s right through to the U21s.”

The England national side have often choked when it comes to penalty situations in key tournaments, and this appears to have haunted their young setup as well with the Under-17 side losing out to Spain in the final earlier in May. The Under-20 World Cup success still remains a high point for the nation, and they will hope to replicate a similar feat with Gareth Southgate’s side, who are on course to qualify for next year’s World Cup held in Russia. England had a World Cup to forget in Brazil three years ago after they suffered a group stage exit.