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66 min: Lee Carsley has responded to that equaliser by making a substitution. Stansfield is replaced by Brooke Norton-Cuffy.
64 min: That goal was coming for Germany. As expected, they came into this second half with much more confidence thanks to that late first-half goal. England haven’t really had too much of a look-in at all over the last 20 minutes.
62 min: Germany have a corner and Reitz sends the ball into the box. Cresswell looks to flick it clear but the ball instead falls to Nebel on the other side of the area. The winger has plenty of time to tee himself up for the shot before unleashing an effort straight into the top-tight corner. Beadle gets his fingertips to it, but it’s not enough to keep the shot out. It’s all level!
GOAL! England 2-2 Germany (Paul Nebel, 61)
Nebel fires Germany level with a stunning strike!
60 min: Germany are really piling on the pressure now as a low-driven cross is drilled into the England box. Anderson manages to get there to make the block just in time.
57 min: Germany break forward on the counter attack and Nebel goes for goal from around 15 yards out. His effort is fairly tame, however, and it is a relatively easy save for Beadle.
55 min: Germany make their way into the box and there are some relatively quiet appeals for a penalty after Martel goes to ground following a soft challenge from Anderson. The referee does not entertain the claims as expected.
52 min: Livramento plays the ball inside to McAtee in midfield, who drops a shoulder to move past Reitz. He continues his run forward before looking to place his shot into the bottom-right corner, but his effort runs millimetres past the post.
49 min: Morton loses possession to Woltemade in midfield and the Germany striker breaks forward. After playing the ball out to Nebel on the left side of the box, it eventually comes back out to Weiper, whose shot deflects off McAtee, making it easy for Beadle to claim.
47 min: Hinshelwood comes charging forward before attempting to split the Germany defence with a pass through to Hutchinson, but his effort is cut out by Collins.
KICK-OFF: England 2-1 Germany
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Following the opening goal, Colum Fordham emailed in from Naples to say:
“What a wonderful start for Lee Carsley’s team. So pleased that Harvey Elliot has continued his super run of form. Hope Arne Slot is taking due note and will make Elliot a key member of the first team next season as he hardly ever got a start.”
HALF-TIME: England 2-1 Germany
England have the lead, but that late goal will give Germany a huge confidence boost going into the second half.
45+2 min: Nebel sends a cross into the centre of the box and Weiper is there to fire the ball into the net with a bullet header! Game on!
GOAL! England 2-1 Germany (Nelson Weiper, 45+1)
Weiper gets one back for Germany on the brink of half-time!
43 min: That yellow card challenge was, indeed, Scott’s last involvement in this final. He limps off the pitch and is replaced by Tyler Morton.
42 min: Scott, who has been struggling with a knock for the last few minutes, is booked for a challenge on Woltemade. That looks to be his final involvement in the match.
39 min: England capitalise on a lapse in concentration from Germany and break away on the attack. Hutchinson receives the ball on the left before playing it inside to McAtee, who goes for goal with his first touch and forces a save from Atubolu.
36 min: Martel is booked for a heavy challenge on Scott.
34 min: Another chance for England as Livramento plays a clever pass inside from the right-back position to Stansfield, who looks to move it on to Hutchinson in the box. The linesman eventually puts his flag up for an offside.
32 min: Hutchinson looks for his second as he receives the ball on the left before attempting to curl a shot into the bottom-right corner. His effort takes a deflection and runs behind, but the referee gives a goal kick.
30 min: England have to be careful when playing out from the back, with Germany continuing to apply a high press. So far, the Young Lions have managed it very well, repeatedly triggering the counter attack and tearing their opposition apart.
28 min: Woltemade tries to make his way deep into the box before attempting to square a pass across goal. His effort is eventually blocked and Germany have a corner. Nothing comes of the set-piece.
25 min: The ball is played through to McAtee on the edge of the box, who struggles to control it at first. He somehow manages to avoid a challenge and is able to play a short pass out to Hutchinson on the left, who slots his shot through the legs of Atubolu and into the net! What a start for England!
GOAL! England 2-0 Germany (Omari Hutchinson, 24)
Hutchinson makes it two… and celebrates with a backflip! England have one hand on the trophy!
22 min: Germany have a free kick on the right. The ball is crossed into the box and Woltemade runs onto it. The striker flicks his headed effort towards goal, but is way off-target. The linesman then puts his flag up to call for offside.
18 min: A huge chance for England to make it two! Anderson kicks off a counter attack by sending Elliott on a run through the middle. The midfielder plays the ball to McAtee on the left side of the Germany box, who selflessly squares it across the face of goal to Stansfield, but the striker doesn’t appear prepared for it and fails to reach for the tap-in!
16 min: Martel narrowly avoids a booking after a late sliding challenge on Anderson just outside the England box.
13 min: Anderson draws a foul from his defender and wins a free kick in a dangerous area. The midfielder steps up to take it and sends a cross deep into the box. Cresswell rises up to head it towards goal but his effort is off-target.
12 min: That early goal has given the Young Lions plenty of confidence. They are looking very composed on the ball with barely any nerves showing.
9 min: A Germany cross is sent into the England box and Hinshelwood does well to deal with it, bringing the ball down with his chest for Beadle to claim.
6 min: Hutchinson goes for goal from close range with the outside of his boot, forcing a save from Atubolu. It deflects back out to Collins, who looks to clear the danger, but instead the ball falls straight to Elliott on the edge of the six-yard box. The midfielder does well to find a small gap in the defence, perfectly slotting his shot into the bottom-right corner!
GOAL! England 1-0 Germany (Harvey Elliott, 5)
The Liverpool man strikes again! England have an early lead!
4 min: Hutchinson looks to play a cross deep into the box, but nobody is there to get on the end of it and Germany win back possession.
2 min: England look to move forward as Hinshelwood plays a pass through to Hutchinson on the wing, but he is quickly closed down by Collins.
KICK-OFF
We’re under way in Bratislava!
The teams are out. The national anthems have been sung. The U21 European Championship final is just a few moments away!
With the final just a matter of moments away, Ben McAleer has looked at the top 10 standout players from this summer’s U21 European Championship in Slovakia - with four finalists included.
As I briefly mentioned earlier, Thomas Tuchel and Julian Nagelsmann are both in attendance this evening. England senior head coach Tuchel has flown over from the USA after watching Manchester City’s 5-2 win over Juventus on Thursday. Young Lions captain James McAtee believes that his presence will give England a boost in the final. The midfielder said: “I think it would be an extra motivation for the lads to win and more of a reason to try and impress the first team manager.”
David Kent has emailed in, perhaps starting a debate about who should have the senior England head coach role for next summer’s World Cup. He says:
“Given Tuchel’s shaky start as head coach of the seniors, I think if the Under 21s win this then the FA should strongly consider promoting Lee Carsley before the World Cup. Two international tournament wins is hugely impressive and you get the feeling Carsley learned from his interim experience. Tuchel seems to be taking us backward, do we really still need to be relying on Jordan Henderson and Kyle Walker in 2025? I think not. Let’s show some faith in English coaching and give Carsley a chance.”
Thoughts?
Ed Aarons
It turns out that behind the quiet demeanour, Lee Carsley is much more confident than often comes across. After England Under-21s lost to Germany in their final group match of the European Championship last week – a result that meant both teams progressed to the quarter-finals – the manager sought out his opposite number, Antonio Di Salvo. “He said that they would see us in the final,” revealed the German…
During his pre-match press conference, the England head coach Lee Carsley revealed that he felt his team’s second-half performance against Germany earlier in the tournament was a turning point. He explained: “After the game, I was more than confident that this team had clicked and we were in a good position. It was a bit tongue-in-cheek. I thought that we’d be there. I wasn’t sure if they would be there. I was confident that we were going to do well in this tournament. I’ve got a lot of belief in this team.
“I knew the second half against Germany, we clicked. In the first half, it would be fair to say, especially the first 20 minutes, we did not play well…”
England U21s have won the European Championship three times already - in 1982, 1984 and, most recently, in 2023. You might be wondering what those title-winning players went on to achieve following their respective victories, but look no further. Connor Myers has looked back at every England player who has lifted the trophy, from Tommy Caton and Terry Fenwick to Curtis Jones and Cole Palmer.
As always, feel free to email me this evening with any thoughts, feelings, opinions, predictions and all that jazz. Where are you watching/reading from? You might be tuning in from Glastonbury, or your back garden - either way, I want to hear from you!
Team news
England starting line-up: James Beadle; Tino Livramento, Jarell Quansah, Charlie Cresswell, Jack Hinshelwood; Harvey Elliott, Alex Scott, Elliot Anderson, Omari Hutchinson; James McAtee (C), Jay Stansfield. Substitutes: Ronnie Edwards, Hayden Hackney, Tom Fellows, Jonathan Rowe, Brooke Norton-Cuffy, Tommy Simkin, Archie Gray, CJ Egan-Riley, Samuel Iling-Junior, Ethan Nwaneri, Teddy Sharman-Lowe, Tyler Morton.
Germany starting line-up: Noah Atubolu; Nnamdi Collins, Nathaniel Brown, Bright Arrey-Mbi, Tim Oermann; Brajan Gruda, Eric Martel (C), Rocco Reitz, Paul Nebel; Nelson Weiper, Nick Woltemade. Substitutes: Tjark Ernst, Nahuel Noll, Max Rosenfelder, Ansgar Knauff, Merlin Röhl, Nicolo Tresoldi, Jan Thielmann, Lukas Ullrich, Jamil Siebert, Caspar Jander, Elias Baum, Paul Wanner.
Preamble
Hello, good evening and welcome to coverage of the European Under-21 Championship final! Reigning champions England face Germany in Bratislava tonight with both teams eyeing their fourth title. These two sides faced each other just last Wednesday, with Germany clinching a 2-1 win thanks to goals from Ansgar Knauff and Nelson Weiper. However, the Young Lions head coach Lee Carsley is confident that his team can bounce back and take revenge when it most matters.
Thomas Tuchel and Julian Nagelsmann - the head coaches of the respective nations’ senior men’s teams - will both be in attendance at Tehelné Pole later this evening, scouting potential talent for next year’s World Cup in the United States, Mexico and Canada. The question is, who will be celebrating at the end of the night?
Kick-off is at 8pm BST - you don’t want to miss it!
