England pay the penalty against dominant Germany in Euro U21 semi-final shoot-out
England U21 2 Germany U21 2 (Germany U21 win 4-3 on penalties): Two Julian Pollersbeck shoot-out saves denied the Young Lions a place in Friday's final
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Germany required penalties to send Aidy Boothroyd’s England side crashing out of the Under-21 European Championship, after a hard-fought 120 minutes that could not separate the two sides in Tychy.
The Young Lions gave a good account of themselves, but it was ultimately an evening of cruel disappointment, as tactical tweaking and resilience were not enough to overpower a German outfit that dominated for long periods.
Just as this tournament’s previous edition was settled in the final by a penalty shootout, the format would bare its teeth once again in a high-stakes fixture, with Stefan Kuntz’s side needing two saves from goalkeeper Julian Pollersbeck to tip the balance.
Goals from Demarai Gray and Tammy Abraham were enough to overturn an opening goal from Davie Selke, but a header from substitute Felix Platte ensured proceedings would go the full distance, with a lack of quality in the final third proving key.
Three months ago, these two sides met in friendly action, as Germany closed out a deserved 1-0 win. Nadim Amiri netted the only goal of the evening, but Kuntz’s men were unable to find enough cutting edge this time around to edge ahead before the referee called time on two hours of tireless open play.
A very early penalty scare was a rude awakening for the Young Lions, before Abraham spurned a great opportunity. The Chelsea youngster nodded a pin-point James Ward-Prowse corner delivery within Pollersbeck’s reach, when it looked easier to score.
Germany initially struggled to settle inside the opening 20 minutes, but Selke popped up with a close-range header to put Germany 1-0 ahead on 35 minutes, following an excellent venture to the byline from right back Jeremy Toljan.
Defending corners proved to be Die Mannschaft’s weak point. Just six minutes after the deadlock had been broken, Ward-Prowse’s set pieces wreaked havoc once again. Calum Chambers was picked out, but saw a shot blocked, before Gray thumped home an emphatic equaliser to send England into the interval level.
The Young Lions carried their momentum into the second half, as Chelsea youngster Abraham netted his first goal of the tournament on 50 minutes. Mason Holgate and Hughes combined well to capitalise on some lax defending down Germany’s left-hand side, before an unselfish pass from the latter was slotted home simply inside the six-yard box.
The trailing side’s pressure proved telling by the 70-minute mark. A corner was whipped in from the left, allowing for substitute Platte to steal in at the near post to power a firm header beyond a helpless Jordan Pickford, levelling the scoreline again at 2-2.
England were getting deeper, with Ward-Prowse and Lewis Baker hugging their back four tightly, reduced to giving Abraham long balls to chase. Despite having more days to rest ahead of the semi-final clash, it was England that was clinging on.
The offside flag denied Platte a second goal on 78 minutes, but this was one-way traffic. Tired English legs staggered their way to the final whistle, with an unappealing additional 30 minutes of play the result, as extra-time asked for further effort from legs that did not appear to have much else to give.
Yannick Gerhardt stung the gloves of Pickford with a well-struck effort from 25 yards, as Germany sought a way to break through a resilient English unit. Just as both teams would appear spent, new energy reserves would be called upon, as the promise of a final loomed large.
Boothroyd switched between both a back three and four, as the Young Lions tried to be defensively sound and also cause problems on the break. He got a response from his players, too, but it would be Germany that would prove their saviour.
In the dying moments, an excellent cross to the back post from Toljan somehow evaded Nadiem Amiri, who could not place home what appeared to be a simple finish. Penalties would be the deciding factor, just as history has dictated to these two nations in the not-so-distant past.
Germany captain Maximilian Arnold stepped up to set the penalty shoot-out tone for his side, rattling a low finish down the middle to outfox Pickford. Lewis Baker calmly followed suit to equalise.
Pickford guessed correctly to deny Gerhardt, but his goalkeeping counterpart did the same to frustrate England’s Abraham. Maximilian Philipp had no such trouble with his effort to make it 2-1.
Leicester City left back Ben Chilwell calmly tucked the ball into the bottom-right corner to put the pressure on Max Meyer, but the diminutive Schalke playmaker was not troubled as made it 3-2 to Germany.
Ward-Prowse was next to arrive on the scene, thumping an emphatic finish into the top-right corner of the net to ensure that England kept pace with their opponents, but Amiri didn’t hesitate after missing a great chance in extra time, instead finding the back of the net coolly with the following penalty for Die Mannschaft.
Redmond lined up the spot kick that had the potential to be decisive, after taking a moment to assess the condition of his penalty spot.
The Southampton wide man put the ball at an inviting height for Pollersbeck, who made himself the hero by flinging himself to his right, with his teammates immediately hurtling over from the half-way line to join in with the celebrations.
England miss out on the chance to become the fourth Young Lions’ outfit to make it to a final of a youth tournament this summer, but their failure was not without merit.
Boothroyd’s tactical changes squeezed the most out of a squad that looked beaten several times over, but Germany’s penalty shoot-out stereotype gets the chance to live on for a little bit longer.
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