Match Preview for England U21 v Germany U21
England will look to become the first side to retain the European U21 Championship for 12 years when they face Germany in Saturday’s final.
Lee Carsley’s side are a step away from successfully defending the title they clinched in 2023, having booked their place in the showpiece with a 2-1 win over the Netherlands.
Harvey Elliott’s brace proved decisive in that last-four clash, the Liverpool forward taking his tally for the tournament to four goals.
That followed a tempestuous win over Spain, England’s progress through the knockouts underlining their pedigree.
But in Germany they are facing a side who beat them 2-1 in the group stage.
Goals from Ansgar Knauff and Nelson Weiper gave Germany the victory in that encounter, which helped them win Group B with a 100 percent record.
However, their dangerman is the imposing figure of Nick Woltemade, the tournament’s top scorer.
Stuttgart striker Woltemade won his first caps for Germany’s senior side in this year’s Nations League finals and took his tally to eight goals with a strike in Germany’s comfortable 3-0 win over France in the semi-finals.
He now owns the record for the most goals scored in a single U21 Championship and will hope to extend that record to prevent England from emulating Spain, the most recent to side to retain the trophy in 2013.
But Carsley has plenty of belief in his side.
“One more step, which is the biggest step,” he told BBC Radio 5 Live.
“But we’ve got that experience, we’ve done it before, so hopefully we can play with a lot of respect for opponents but try and impose our gameplan on them.
“We all set out with one objective, and that was to try and win it again.
“It’s obviously easier said than done, but I wanted the lads to have the confidence and belief that we could do that.
“We tried to leave all of the hope at St George’s [Park] and come out here with belief and I think that the players have got a great spirit about them.
“I think they really are together, they’re committed to what they’re trying to do and I’m very lucky as a coach, along with the rest of the staff, to work with these players.
“You forget the age of this team. Very young, had a setback but went again. I thought they played with such maturity, they’ve got great team spirit.
“The most important thing now is, like we said after the Spain game, this [reaching the final] can’t be our highlight. We have to make sure that now we try and get the job done.”
Team news for England U21 v Germany U21
England’s talisman Elliott is a doubt for the final after suffering a knock to his knee while celebrating a goal against the Netherlands.
Germany, meanwhile, are set to be without Max Rosenfelder, who was forced off with a muscle injury in the defeat of France.
Predicted line-ups for England U21 v Germany U21
England U21: Beadle; Livramento, Quansah, Cresswell, Hinshelwood; Scott, Anderson; Hutchinson, McAtee, Elliott; Stansfield
Germany U21: Atubolu; Collins, Oermann, Arrey-Mbi, Brown; Knauff, Martel, Reitz, Nebel; Weiper, Woltemade
How to watch England U21 v Germany U21
England U21 v Germany U21 kicks off at 8pm UK time. It will be broadcast on Channel 4. It will also be available to stream on Channel 4 streaming and via Sky Go.
Prediction
England appear to have learnt the lessons from their unconvincing finish to the group stage, with James Beadle’s goal only breached once in the knockout stage by a bizarre long-range effort. If Elliott is fit enough to start, then they should have enough at both ends of the pitch to get the job done.
Prediction: England U21 2-1 Germany U21
