England U21 3-2 Germany U21: England win back-to-back U21 Euros after extra-time win | OneFootball

The two teams already went head-to-head ten days ago, but both coaches opted for rotated sides, as it was a final group stage fixture. Lee Carsley fields the same team that started against  the Netherlands in the semi-final, while Antonio Di Salvo makes two changes from the game against France U21.

Brajan Gruda, who capped an impressive showing with a goal, started ahead of the vastly experienced Ansgar Knauff, while Tim Oermann replaced the injured Max Rosenfelder at the heart of Germany’s defense.

The game started with a slow tempo before England took the lead in the fifth minute with a slice of fortune and resilience. A deflected pass had Omari Hutchinson through in goal, but Noah Atubolu made a strong save. However, Nnamdi Collins’ poor attempt at clearing the ball sets Harvey Elliott to score an opening goal for the third time in the tournament.

The Liverpool midfielder scored in all knockout stage games, and that early strike had him close down the gap with Nick Woltemade at the scoring chart within a single goal. And, most importantly, England took a big step in their attempts to win back-to-back U21 Euros.

Carsley’s team also had the next big chance when James McAtee’s cutback/shot nearly found a teammate in the far post. Moments later, the Manchester City midfielder nearly played Jay Stansfield for the simplest of tap-ins after a swift counterattack play by England.

England U21’s captain made it count with his third chance as he assisted Hutchinson’s goal . The winger, who spent the season with relegated Ipswich Town, nutmegged Atubolu as England doubled their lead in the 25th minute.

Germany struggled to fashion chances, while they had no solutions to control England’s consistent threats on the break. Their only chances of the first half-hour came from set-piece as Nick Woltemade (from an offside position) and Nelson Weiper were unable to direct their headers on target.

They were even fortunate not to go 3-0 down at the half-time break as Freiburg’s goalkeeper made another decent save from the all-action McAtee. Instead, Germany got a lifeline with a powerful header from Weiper from a brilliant delivery by Paul Nebel.

The Mainz duo combined well, and Germany are back in the game thanks to their first shot on target. While all the attention was on Woltemade, Weiper extended his scoring run to four consecutive games.

Leading by example, McAtee nearly restored England’s two-goal lead in the 50th minute with what would have been a serious contender for goal of the tournament. That chance followed Germany’s best spell of the game as they completely dominated England for a good 10 minutes.

At the end of it, Nebel put them level with a superb strike in a crowded box. After his excellent assist for Weiper’s goal, the midfielder scored himself as Germany entered the final 30 minutes tied at 2-2.

After Germany’s equalizer, chances were few and far between for either side until Nebel came close to completing the comeback with a similar finish when he rattled the woodwork in injury-time.

England started the extra-time with McAtee and the injured Elliott subbed off, but Jonathan Rowe scored with his first touch of the ball to restore their lead. Tyler Morton, another substitute, provided the perfect cross for the diving header from the Marseille striker.

Germany continued to push for an equalizer, but the closest they came was hitting the bar once again when Merlin Röhl nearly repeated his quarter-final heroics in the 121st minute.

England win back-to-back U21 Euros for the second time in their history. Germany played a great tournament, but they lost the final for the third time in their history.