England are one game away from defending their European Under-21 Championships title, and they face Germany in Bratislava on Saturday.
Lee Carsley’s Young Lions have seen off Spain and the Netherlands en route to the final at the Stadion Tehelne Pole, where they take on the only side that have beaten them at this tournament.
Germany, led by Antonio Di Salvo, beat England 2-1 in the group stage, with that victory decisive when it came to who topped Group B.
Carsley’s team had already stuttered in their second game, drawing 0-0 with Slovenia, and, despite falling to Ansgar Knauff and Nelson Weiper’s goals in Nitra, the holders still progressed with four points to their name, just one clear of the Czech Republic in third, who England had beaten 3-1 in their opener thanks to strikes from Harvey Elliott, Jonathan Rowe, and Charlie Cresswell.
Since then, the Young Lions, who have Premier League quality oozing through the squad, have really come into their own.
They were hugely impressive against pre-tournament favourites Spain, downing Santi Denia’s men 3-1 after an early scare, with Cresswell initially penalised for a handball inside the box on two minutes, but the awarded penalty was disallowed by VAR.
England responded superbly, with captain James McAtee and Elliott notching a five-minute double salvo to stun the Spanish, who halved the deficit before the break through Javi Guerra’s spot-kick. Elliot Anderson made it three late on with a penalty of his own, won by Rowe utilising his pace in behind before being felled by Alejandro Iturbe.
Carsley’s men left it late in the last four, with Elliott notching a brace, netting the winner five minutes from time after Noah Ohio had cancelled out his 62nd-minute opener.
But they now find themselves faced with the Germans once more, a side that have won every single game that they have played this tournament.
They eked past Italy in the quarters, but swept France aside comfortably in the semis – a 3-0 victory that hammered home their star quality, particularly in the final third, as Weiper and Nick Woltermade’s partnership showed.
The pair scored the first two goals of the evening, before Brighton’s Brajan Gruda rounded off the win in second-half stoppage time.
Date, kick-off time and venue
England U21 vs Germany is scheduled for an 8pm BST kick-off on Saturday, June 28, 2025.
The match will take place at the Stadion Tehelne Pole in Bratislava, Slovakia.
Where to watch England U21 vs Germany
TV channel and live stream: Viewers can watch the action live on Channel 4, with coverage starting at 7.30pm BST.
Live blog: You can follow all the action on matchday via Standard Sport’s live blog.
England U21 vs Germany team news
Carsley will have a full complement to choose from on Saturday, with no injuries plaguing the Young Lions’ squad.
For Germany, however, they will miss one of their key centre-back, Max Rosenfelder, the Freiburg defender.
Rosenfelder limped off after 10 minutes against France in the semi-final, and is ruled out for Saturday’s showpiece.
Otherwise, Di Salvo’s squad are fit and raring to rip the title that they last won in 2017 back.
England U21 vs Germany prediction
This will be a real test of the Young Lions’ mettle, and whether they can conjure every slither of quality they have to exact revenge.
They produced a disappointing display in the reverse game earlier on in the tournament, but they are in their groove now, as the recent performances demonstrate.
Woltermade will be tough to keep quiet with his physical presence and poise on the ball, while Cresswell and Jarrell Quansah will want to ensure that Weiper does not score past them again.
Head to head (h2h) history and results
England U21 vs Germany match odds
Odds via Betfair (subject to change)
