England beat Germany to retain U21 EURO title

Jonathan Rowe came off the bench a minute into extra time to fire England to a second successive UEFA U21 Euro crown after a 3-2 victory over Germany in Bratislava.

The Young Lions needed 120 minutes to dispatch their challengers, with efforts from Harvey Elliott and Omari Hutchinson matched initially by strikes from Nelson Weiper and Paul Nebel.

With little to separate the two sides after 90 minutes, it fell to Rowe to prove the difference, flicking home Tyler Morton's cross not long after his introduction to claim the spoils in Slovakia.

England had made a dream start to proceedings, with Elliott threading the Young Lions into the lead after just five minutes of play.

Omari Hutchinson then added a deserved second, coolly slotting the ball beneath the legs of Noah Atubolu as Lee Carsley's men eased into a comfortable two-goal cushion.

But Germany soon began to grow into the contest, halving the deficit on the stroke of half-time after Nelson Weiper fired a bullet header past James Beadle.

Unfazed, England began the second half searching for an immediate response and were almost rewarded for their positive intent.

McAtee showed sublime skill by dropping a shoulder to lose Rocco Reitz in the middle of the pitch before firing an effort from the edge of the box, but England captain could not guide his effort into the back of the net.

It was then Germany's turn to mount an assault on goal, with Paul Nebel forcing a fine save from Beadle.

The resultant corner was seemingly dealt with by Charlie Cresswell, but the defender was unable to prevent the ball from finding the Nebel on the other side of the box.

And this time he would not be denied, rifling home a powerful effort to tie the scores and set up a grandstand finish.

With time running out, the German had seemingly decided the contest when he charged forward and struck from the edge of the box, only for his last-minute effort to rattle the crossbar and herald extra-time.

The added period saw Lee Carsley ring in the changes, sending on Rowe, Ethan Nwaneri, Samuel Iling-Junior and CJ Egan-Riley.

And it was the first of the quartet that made an instant impact, expertly flicking Morton's whipped cross beyond the reach of Atubolu and into the bottom-left corner of the net.

Germany threw bodies forward in search of an equaliser, but they could not find a way past the Young Lions' rearguard for a third time as England held on to confirm a successful defence of their crown.

England: 1 James Beadle (Brighton & Hove Albion), 2 Tino Livramento (Newcastle United), 4 Jarrell Quansah (Liverpool), 5 Charlie Cresswell (Toulouse), 10 James McAtee (c) (Manchester City) 11 Omari Hutchinson (Ipswich Town), 16 Jack Hinshelwood (Brighton & Hove Albion), 18 Jay Stansfield (Birmingham City), 19 Harvey Elliott (Liverpool)

Substitutes: 23 Tyler Morton for Scott 43', 12 Brooke Norton-Cuffy (Genoa) for Stansfield 62', 9 Jonathan Rowe (Olympique Marseille) for Elliott 90', 21 Ethan Nwaneri (Arsenal) for McAtee 90', 17 Samuel Iling-Junior (Aston Villa) for Hutchinson 98', 15 CJ Egan-Riley (Olympique Marseille) for Anderson 99'

Subs not used: 3 Ronnie Edwards (Southampton), 6 Hayden Hackney (Middlesbrough), 7 Tom Fellows (West Bromwich Albion), 13 Tommy Simkin (Stoke City), 14 Archie Gray (Tottenham Hotspur), 22 Teddy Sharman-Lowe (Chelsea)

Goals: Elliott 5', Hutchinson 24'

Yellow cards: Scott 43', Iling-Junior 13', Beadle 115'

Head coach: Lee Carsley

Germany: 1 Noah Atubolu, 2 Nnamdi Collins, 3 Nathaniel Brown, 4 Bright Arrey-Mbi, 6 Eric Martel, 10 Nick Woltemade, 14 Tim Oermann, 17 Brajan Gruda, 18 Rocco Reitz, 19 Nelson Weiper, 20 Paul Nebel

Substitutes: 7 Ansgar Knauff for Gruda 73', 8 Merlin Röhl for Weiper 80', 13 Lukas Ullrich for Brown 86', 9 Nicolò Tresoldi for Martel 98', 22 Paul Wanner for Oermann 105'

Subs not used: 5 Max Rosenfelder, 9 11 Jan Thielmann, 12 Tjark Ernst, 15 Jamil Siebert, 16 Caspar Jander, 21 Elias Baum, Nahuel Noll

Goals: Weiper 45'+1, Nebel 61'

Yellow cards: Martel 37'

Head coach: Antonio Di Salvo