England 3-2 Germany (aet) highlights: Rowe header ensures Young Lions retain title

England won their fourth UEFA European Under-21 Championship title, retaining the trophy with an action-packed 3-2 victory at the National Football Stadium in Bratislava, Jonathan Rowe heading an extra-time winner after Germany had recovered from two goals down.

Match in brief: England rally after Germany comeback

Germany had taken an early lead during their 2-1 victory against England on Matchday 3 but the roles were reversed here as the Young Lions' talisman Harvey Elliott calmly swept in the opener, pouncing when Antonio Di Salvo's side failed to clear following Noah Atubolu's save from Omari Hutchinson. It was the catalyst for a hugely impressive opening 45 minutes from Lee Carsley's side.

Harvey Elliott roars after his opener for EnglandGetty Images

James McAtee was instrumental in most of England's incisive moments in the first half. The Manchester City midfielder had already drilled wide and provided a teasing cross that Jay Stansfield just failed to turn in, before teeing up Hutchinson to drive under Noah Atubolu for the second goal.

Omari Hutchinson head over heels with delight after making it 2-0ANP via Getty Images

Germany's 100% record was in peril as they were two down for the first time at the finals, and it would have been three had Atubolu not deflected another McAtee attempt past the post. A turning point? Perhaps, as just before the break they halved the deficit when Nelson Weiper scored for the fourth successive game by heading past James Beadle – just as he had in the group stage.

Nelson Weiper heads Germany back into the gameANP via Getty Images

McAtee slid just past the post as the Young Lions continued to prosper on the counter in the second half but Di Salvo's side were now the greater menace and drew level when a half-cleared corner fell to Paul Nebel, who cut inside and whipped a deflected effort past Beadle. The Germany midfielder came closest to settling the contest in normal time too, bending another deflected shot against the bar in the dying seconds.

Carsley withdrew creative pair Elliott and McAtee before extra time but his bench came up trumps almost immediately as Jonathan Rowe glanced in a wonderful cross from fellow substitute Tyler Morton. There was to be no reprieve for Germany this time, substitute Merlin Röhl crashing a last-gasp effort off the bar as the Young Lions held on to retain their trophy.

Player of the Match: James McAtee (England)

"James McAtee had a big impact on the game. His positioning was always excellent and he put in a huge effort both offensively and defensively, creating chances for his colleagues to boot."
UEFA Technical Observer Group

Simon Hart, match reporter

England have repeated their feat of back-to-back triumphs from 1982 and 1984, and they've done it in thrilling fashion. Carsley's youngsters opened up Germany repeatedly in the first half with some fabulously quick and incisive attacking football. They then dug deep defensively when Germany got back to 2-2 and and twice struck the crossbar, including right at the end of extra time. But what a way to win it, with a brilliant diving header from substitute Rowe.

Paul Nebel takes the acclaim after drawing Germany levelAFP via Getty Images

Reaction

Lee Carsley, England head coach: "It was a really tough game tonight against a really tough Germany team. To get the win is a brilliant achievement for the players, and I'm just so pleased for them."

Jonathan Rowe, England's match winner: "I came into the game with a mindset about anything I could do to help the team. I wasn't starting, but I knew that at some point, all of us on the bench would have to come and make a difference to help the team push it over the line. And I'm so happy that we managed to do that."

Jarell Quansah, England defender: "It's amazing. To do it with this group of lads, it's been emotional. It's been a tough tournament and we've had to battle through some tough teams. Overall tonight we deserved it. We put loads of energy into the game and we always had belief we were good enough to win. For England to go to a tournament thinking they are good enough to win is a massive step forwards."

Omari Hutchinson, England midfielder: "We've been here a whole month and I think we deserved it. We put in a lot of effort and hard work. It feels nice and I hope the first of many. The manager wanted us to start fast. We've got a strong squad and we just had to take our chances. It was a difficult game towards the end but we saw it through and that's all that matters."

Nnamdi Collins, Germany defender: "We started very badly, the first 20-30 minutes we were not on our game but we came back better after our first goal. We felt we were near to the second goal, as the first goal was very important for us. We then played like we wanted and got it to 2-2. England were better in possession [in extra time]. It was a good cross and a beautiful header [for the winning goal]. Maybe today they deserved to win."

Rocco Reitz, Germany midfielder: "We gave them too much space [in the first half], we were too far away and they could play out too easily – that was the biggest problem. We had the bigger chances in the second half and extra time but we hit the crossbar two times. We didn't take our chances. We played a very good tournament but in the end it's very sad. I think we can be proud and it was a good journey. At the end, there was not enough luck."

Jonathan Rowe celebrates his winning goalUEFA via Getty Images

Key stats

• England have won their fourth U21 EURO title, one shy of the tournament record of five held jointly by Spain and Italy.
• The Young Lions have now won four of their five finals.
• England have won back-to-back titles for the second time, after 1982 and 1984. Spain were the last team to win successive titles in 2011 and 2013.
• The Young Lions have now won two of their three U21 EURO finals against Germany. England beat West Germany 5-4 on aggregate in 1982 while Germany won 4-0 in 2009.
• Harvey Elliott is the tenth player to play in and win more than one U21 EURO final after Thiago Alcántara (Spain), Fabio Cannavaro (Italy), David de Gea (Spain), Daniel de Ridder (Netherlands), Dario Marcolin (Italy), Martin Montoya (Spain), Iker Muniain (Spain), Roberto Muzzi (Italy), Christian Panucci (Italy) and Danny Thomas (England).
• Germany's 20-game unbeaten run (W17 D3) ended in this game – their last defeat was also against England, in the 2023 group stage.

Line-ups

England: Beadle; Hinshelwood, Quansah, Cresswell, Livramento; Scott (Morton 44), Anderson (Egan-Riley 98); Hutchinson (Iling-Junior 98), McAtee (Nwaneri 91), Elliott (Rowe 91); Stansfield (Norton-Cuffy 62)

Germany: Atubolu; Collins, Arrey-Mbi, Oermann (Wanner 106), Brown (Ullrich 86); Nebel, Martel (Tresoldi 98), Reitz; Weiper (Röhl 80), Woltemade, Gruda (Knauff 73)