Knauff galvanises Germany as England limp into Euro Under-21 last eight
When Lee Carsley expressed his hope that England's Under-21 players could give Thomas Tuchel 'something to ponder' with their performances while defending their European title in Slovakia, their first-half showing against Germany's second-string side wasn't what he had in mind. Trailing 2-0 at the break after goals from Ansgar Knauff and Nelson Weiper, there was even a brief moment when the result of the group's other match between Slovenia and the Czech Republic might have determined whether they progressed to the quarter-finals.
But a significantly improved performance in the second half, as Alex Scott set up a frantic finale that could not quite produce an equaliser, at least gives Carsley something to build on as they prepare to face Spain in the last eight on Saturday night. Having beaten the pre-tournament favourites, who are looking for their record sixth title at this level, in the final two years ago in Georgia, the England manager will know that his side cannot defend like they did against Germany.
Carsley said this week that this group 'needs more leaders' so leaving James McAtee, the captain, on the bench as one of four changes from the side that was held to a 0-0 draw against Slovenia on Sunday was perhaps an attempt to throw some of the less experienced squad members in at the deep end. Archie Gray and the influential Tino Livramento were also handed a rest, with Jack Hinshelwood and Aston Villa's Samuel Iling-Junior replacing them as full-backs.
Although Germany impressively sealed progression to the last eight by scoring seven times in their opening two matches, it was still a surprise to see their coach, Antonio Di Salvo, field a completely changed side to their wins over Slovenia and the Czech Republic. Yet having already defeated Spain in a friendly back in March thanks to a hat-trick from Nick Woltemade – the towering Stuttgart striker who already has four goals in this competition – they didn't seem concerned about potentially losing top spot in the group.
It was easy to see why within three minutes as the left-back Lukas Ullrich caught Jarell Quansah napping with a perfectly weighted ball over the top. A deft piece of control and precise finish from Knauff gave Germany an early lead. Quansah was almost on the end of a flowing move involving Ethan Nwaneri as England attempted to hit back. But despite enjoying the lion's share of possession and the stand-in skipper Harvey Elliott's best efforts, they struggled to create chances as Jonathan Rowe – again filling in as a central striker after Liam Delap was diverted to the Club World Cup – found himself isolated.
It needed a last-ditch intervention from Iling-Junior to deny Knauff a second before Weiner was allowed to head home the Eintracht Frankfurt forward's cross minutes later despite the attentions of Hinshelwood and Charlie Cresswell. Carsley was probably nervously checking the score in the group's other match just in case when a floodlight failure with 45 seconds left of stoppage time brought a premature end to the first half.
Thankfully for the hosts in Nitra, power was fully restored for the start of the second half as McAtee was summoned from the bench along with the Birmingham striker Jay Stansfield and Genoa's Brooke Norton-Cuffy. England finally began to look more of a threat as news that the Czechs had taken the lead against Slovenia filtered through, with Norton-Cuffy, a former Arsenal academy player, providing some much-needed impetus down the right flank. A second goal for the Czechs removed any remaining jeopardy as Carsley threw on Liverpool's Tyler Morton and West Brom's Tom Fellows, who was called up as a late replacement for Jobe Bellingham.
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Scott should have done better with a great chance just after he had been booked for a late challenge before Hinshelwood headed over with the goal gaping. The Bournemouth midfielder gave the travelling England supporters something to cheer when he tapped home following a mazy run from Omari Hutchison. Cresswell came closest to completing the comeback as England laid siege to the German goal in the final 10 minutes but could not direct his header away from the goalkeeper Tjark Ernst.
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