Wednesday 28 June 2017 12:10, UK
Nathan Redmond will recover from his decisive missed penalty against Germany in the Euro U21 semi-finals, says Demarai Gray.
England once again crashed out to Germany in the final four of the European Championships on spot-kicks, losing 4-3 in the shoot-out following a 2-2 draw after extra time.
Tammy Abraham had already missed one of the Young Lions' kicks, meaning Redmond had to score to keep hopes alive but Germany goalkeeper Julian Pollersbeck saved his effort.
"He has been great in the changing room. When the lads need waking up, he is the one that does it. We are devastated for him," said team-mate Gray after Redmond left the stadium in Tychy in tears.
"We created some chances and we are so disappointed not to go through. I'll put my arm around his shoulder like he would do for me.
"It's not nice to see what happened to him but we are there for him. I've looked up to him since our days together at Birmingham and he's helped me a lot, even in this tournament when I have been down. He will move on."
After Gray cancelled out Germany's first-half opener, Abraham had put England 2-1 ahead before Felix Platte headed in the equaliser to send the game to penalties.
England U21 boss Aidy Boothroyd praised the character of his side but admitted the Young Lions must continue to practice from 12 yards.
He said: "We are absolutely gutted, it's a mixture of being sick of losing on penalties after going so close but also being very pleased that this is not just one game. A lot of hard work went into this tournament.
"The fact we went down and came back says a lot to me about the character of the players. But obviously we've got to keep practising those penalties.
"A lot of players have given everything. We went behind and came back into the game and I thought it was our day after that backs-to-the-wall performance. I fancied our chances strongly."
