Germany U21s defeated England U21s 2-1 in the final group B fixture in the U21s European Championships on Wednesday evening.
The Germans got off to a flying start, as just three minutes into the match, they found themselves 1-0 up thanks to a wonderfully worked goal. Lukas Ullrich played a simple but well-picked-out pass on his left foot to Angsar Knauff, who made a superb run into the box, and the Eintracht Frankfurt man took it down perfectly and fired it past James Beadle from close range. Antonio di Salvo may have made 11 changes to his side, but early in the match, they were not showing any signs of being unfamiliar with each other.
Despite Germany coming out from the start on fire, taking the lead after just three minutes, England didn't let the early goal deflate them as they started playing some really nice football and came close to equalising a few times after some good attempts from goal which were met by some great defensive moments from the Germany back line.
Although England looked to be in control of the match and were the more positive of the two sides, in the 33rd minute, Germany doubled their lead, and Lee Carsley's men will be furious that they conceded a goal like that. Just like their opening goal, Germany's second was very simple as Knauff put in a high but perfectly aimed cross, and it was met by Nelson Weiper, who just guided his header into the bottom corner past Beadle.
Shortly after the extra time for the first half was announced, a section of the floodlights in the stadium went out, which put the match into limbo for a few minutes. The floodlights remained down for an extra few minutes, and instead of waiting for them to be fixed, the referee blew for half-time with the score 2-0 to Germany.
The second half was somewhat uneventful up until the 76th minute when England managed to get a goal back. Omari Hutchinson produced some excellent wing-play, weaving his way into the box with skill, and his perfect cross across the German box was tapped in by Alex Scott to give England hope of a comeback.
Seven minutes after Scott's goal, England went close to making the match 2-2. The German goalkeeper Tjark Ernst produced an excellent reflex save to deny Charlie Cresswell's powerful header from close range to keep his side in the match.
Despite England being much the better side in the second half, they were defeated 2-1, and Germany managed to hold on.
England 1-2 Germany - Match Statistics
England
66
18
5
7
0
1
Match Highlights
To follow soon...
England Player Ratings
Ethan Nwaneri in action for England U21
GK: James Beadle - 6/10
Didn't have a save to make and couldn't really do anything about the goals which Germany scored, as they were very well-worked and from close range.
RB: Jack Hinshelwood - 6/10
Had a very rough first half but improved in the second when he was moved out to the left. Hinshelwood was decent both defensively and offensively, but his final cross into the box was poor more often than not.
CB: Jarell Quansah - 6.5/10
Relatively unchallenged defensively, and managed to threaten several times in the opposition's box.
CB: Charlie Cresswell - 7/10
Very good when playing the ball out from the back, and was aerially and physically dominant up against Weiper.
LB: Samuel Iling-Junior - 6.5/10
Delivered a few dangerous crosses and long balls to the England frontline. Although he wasn't necessarily poor in the first half, he was substituted at half-time.
CM: Alex Scott - 7.5/10
Aside from his goal, which was a tap-in, Scott didn't have much significant involvement in the match and played things safe.
CM: Elliot Anderson - 6.5/10
Saw a lot of the ball and tried his best to make things happen. Anderson also had fight in the middle of the park, but couldn't really create much despite his best efforts.
CM: Omari Hutchinson - 8/10
England's most dangerous attacking threat. Whether he was in the midfield or wide areas, the Ipswich man showed excellent one-on-one ability, and that was on show with his superb assist to Scott in the 76th minute.
LW: Jonathan Rowe - 6/10
Pressed well and worked hard, but didn't really have any significant involvement during his 45 minutes on the pitch.
ST: Harvey Elliott - 5.5/10
Had a few dangerous moments during his time on the pitch, but for the most part, he was quite wasteful in possession of the ball and didn't shoot enough when he got into goalscoring areas. The Liverpool man was substituted at half-time.
RW: Ethan Nwaneri- 7/10
Nwaneri constantly threatened down the right flank, cutting in on his left foot, but just couldn't guide his shots into the corners.
SUB: Brooke Norton-Cuffy - 8/10
Completely changed the game for England following his introduction in the second half. Norton-Cuffy terrorised the German defence with his pace and power and put a lot of dangerous crosses into the box.
SUB: James McAtee - 7/10
Created several really good chances, most of which were dangerous crosses into the box.
SUB: Jay Stansfield - N/A
Didn't do much after coming on.
SUB: Tyler Morton - N/A
Didn't do much after coming on.
SUB: Tom Fellows - N/A
Didn't do much after coming on.
Germany Player Ratings
Angsar Knauff celebrating after scoring against England in the U21 Euros-1
GK: Tjark Ernst - 7.5/10
Made a few routine saves in the match, but the pick of the bunch came in the 83rd minute, where he produced a superb reflex save to deny Cresswell's powerful header. Ernst was also good with the ball at his feet and played some good long-ball passes to his teammates throughout the match.
RB: Elias Baum - 6/10
Really struggled at times when defending against Hutchinson. Baum didn't really offer anything going forward, but had some decent defensive moments despite struggling for the most part.
CB: Tim Oermann - 6.5/10
Produced an excellent block to deny Quansah a goal in the first half. Oermann made some good blocks and clearances, but did look uncomfortable when England attacked with their pace and trickery.
CB: Jamil Siebert - 6.5/10
Decent with the ball at his feet and made quite a lot of clearances and blocks to protect the German goalkeeper.
LB: Lukas Ullrich - 7.5/10
Worked very hard and provided a very good assist to Knauff for Germany's early opening goal.
CM: Caspar Jander - 7/10
Had some really tidy moments in possession of the ball, especially when he was driving out of defence.
CM: Merlin Rohl - 6.5/10
A steady force in midfield. Rohl was calm on the ball and worked hard, but wasn't overly involved in the match.
CM: Paul Wanner - 5.5/10
Hardly got involved in the match and didn't see much of the ball.
RW: Jan Thielmann - 6/10
Threatened Hinshelwood in the first half but was pretty much anonymous in the second half.
ST: Nelson Weiper - 7.5/10
Scored a good header in the first half to give his side a 2-0 lead, but didn't do much after that as he struggled up against both Cresswell and Quansah.
LW: Angsar Knauff - 8.5/10 (Man of the Match)
By far the most dangerous and lively player on the pitch in the first half. Knauff got on the scoresheet just three minutes into the match with a powerful finish, and later in the first half, he provided a great assist for Weiper's headed goal. The Frankfurt man threatened with his pace and directness, but also worked his socks off when out of possession.
SUB: Paul Nebel - N/A
Didn't do much after coming on.
SUB: Nicolo Tresoldi - N/A
Didn't do much after coming on.
SUB: Bright Arrey-Mbi - N/A
Didn't do much after coming on.
SUB: Nnamdi Collins - N/A
Didn't do much after coming on.
SUB: Eric Martel - N/A
Didn't do much after coming on.