Report: England MU21s 1-2 Germany

England men’s under-21s progressed to the knockout stages of UEFA U21 EURO despite falling to a 2-1 defeat to Germany in Nitra.

First-half efforts from Ansgar Knauff and Nelson Weiper were enough to earn Germany all three points and top place in the group, despite a spirited England fightback after the break.

Lee Carsley’s men were dominant in the second half but were unable to find a way through until Alex Scott tapped home with 15 minutes left to play.

The Young Lions pushed hard for an equaliser but could not find another way past Tjark Ernst and were forced to settle for second in Group B. They will now face Spain in the quarter-finals on Saturday.

Germany made the perfect start in Slovakia, as Knauff latched onto a lofted ball over the top of the England defence from Lukas Ullrich and fired low past James Beadle after just three minutes.

The Young Lions almost produced an immediate response, but Ethan Nwaneri’s cross was cut out by Tim Oermann before Jarell Quansah could slide home.

Omari Hutchinson then had sight of goal but his effort was deflected into the hands of Ernst.

Samuel Iling-Junior was forced into evasive action to cut out a dangerous through ball from Paul Wanner.

Just minutes later, Germany doubled their lead as Weiper guided a header home just after the half hour mark.

A deep cross into the box from Knauf was not dealt with by the England defence, and Weiper rose highest to nod past Beadle.

England looked to reduce the deficit before the break, and Harvey Elliott looked to find some space in the box but fired his shot wide of the target.

Elliott was involved again shortly after to release Anderson in behind but his cross was blocked by Ernst.

Carsley rang the changes at the break, with Jay Stansfield, James McAtee, and Brooke Norton-Cuffy all introduced and Norton-Cuffy almost made an immediate impact as he flashed a cross in front of goal but there was no Young Lion on the end to tap home.

England continued their bright start to the second half but were unable to carve out too many clear sights of goal, with substitutes Norton-Cuffy and Stansfield coming closest but there shots did not challenge Ernst.

Quansah then almost forced a way through after a surging run down the left wing, but his cross was cleared by Jamil Siebert with Stansfield lurking in the six-yard box.

Jack Hinshelwood then came closest to scoring but he could only place his header at the back post over the bar.

The breakthrough came with 15 minutes left to play, as Alex Scott tapped home from close range after a mazy dribble and cross from Hutchinson.

Charlie Cresswell then forced a strong save from Ernst with a powering header from a corner as England pushed hard for an equaliser.

Stansfield was next to direct a header goalwards, but his effort flew over the bar from James McAtee’s free kick.

England: 1 James Beadle (Brighton & Hove Albion), 4 Jarell Quansah (Liverpool), 5 Charlie Cresswell (Toulouse), 8 Elliot Anderson (Nottingham Forest), 9 Jonathan Rowe (Olympique Marseille), 11 Omari Hutchinson (Ipswich Town), 16 Jack Hinshelwood (Brighton & Hove Albion), 17 Samuel Iling-Junior (Aston Villa), 19 Harvey Elliott (Liverpool), 21 Ethan Nwaneri (Arsenal)

Substitutes: 18 Jay Stansfield (Birmingham City) for Rowe 46’, 10 James McAtee (Manchester City) for Elliott 46’, 12 Brooke Norton-Cuffy (Genoa) for Iling-Junior 46’, 23 Tyler Morton (Liverpool) for Anderson 64’, 7 Tom Fellows (West Bromwich Albion) for Nwaneri 64’

Subs not used: 2 Tino Livramento (Newcastle United), 3 Ronnie Edwards (Southampton), 6 Hayden Hackney (Middlesbrough), 13 Tommy Simkin (Stoke City), 14 Archie Gray (Tottenham Hotspur), 15 CJ Egan-Riley (Olympique Marseille), 22 Teddy Sharman-Lowe (Chelsea)

Goals: Scott 76'

Yellow cards: Scott

Germany: 12 Tjark Ernst; 7 Ansgar Knauff, 8 Merlin Rohl, 11 Jan Thielmann, 14 Tim Oermann, 15 Jamil Siebert, 16 Caspar Jander, 19 Nelson Weiper, 21 Elias Baum, 22 Paul Wanner

Substitutes: 20 Paul Nebel for Knauff 77’, 9 Nicolo Tresoldi for Rohl 77’, 4 Bright Arrey-Mbi for Weiper 85’, 6 Eric Martel for Wanner 88’, 2 Nnamdi Collins for Baum 88’

Subs not used: 1 Noah Atubolu, 3 Nathaniel Brown, 10 Nick Woltemade, 17 Brajan Gruda, 18 Rocco Reitz, 23 Nahuel Noll

Goals: Knauff 3', Weiper 33'