England’s Under-21s etched their name deeper into European football history with a dramatic 3-2 extra-time win over Germany in Saturday’s UEFA U21 European Championship final, as Jonathan Rowe’s decisive header sealed back-to-back titles for Lee Carsley’s side.
The Young Lions exploded out of the blocks, storming into a two-goal lead inside 25 minutes.
Harvey Elliott opened the scoring in the fifth minute, coolly guiding home his fifth goal of the tournament after latching onto a loose ball.
England’s blistering start continued as Omari Hutchinson doubled the lead, finishing off a swift counterattack orchestrated by James McAtee.
Germany, however, clawed their way back. Nelson Weiper halved the deficit with a towering header in first-half stoppage time from a Paul Nebel cross.
After the restart, Nebel turned scorer, his 63rd-minute strike took a deflection en route to beating England’s James Beadle and pulling the match level.
The drama heightened late on as Nebel nearly snatched a winner in stoppage time, only to see his effort crash against the crossbar. The final went to extra time, and within two minutes, England struck again.
Substitute Tyler Morton delivered a pinpoint cross, met by the head of fellow sub Jonathan Rowe, whose effort found the back of the net for what proved to be the match-winner.
Germany came agonisingly close once more as Merlin Roehl thundered a shot off the bar in the dying moments, but England held firm.
With this triumph, England lifted their fourth U21 Euro title, moving ahead of Germany and trailing only joint-record holders Spain and Italy, who each have five.
