Match report
Germany are U21 European champions for only the second time in their history. And they thoroughly deserve it after winning the final with a highly accomplished performance and a very dainty goal. They nullified a Spanish team that had scored with ease until today and, at the same time, regularly swept forward dangerously. And to think, a handful of their best U-21 players are not even at this tournament, as they’re due to to contest the Confederations Cup final with the senior team this weekend. Glückwünsche!
90+1 min: There will be at least four more minutes. You could give Spain another hour and they wouldn’t know how to infiltrate this strong and savvy German unit.
90 min: Vallejo booked for fouling a German out of sheer annoyance.
89 min: Spain don’t know what to do. They are not just beaten, they are broken.
Germany substitution: Oztunali on, Philipp off.
86 min: Kohr takes the ball into the corner and loiters there. Two Spaniards charge over and try to mug him, but they concede a corner. Germany take it short and resume trying to run down the clock in time-honoured irritating fashion.
84 min: Germany are defending from the front. Not for them the self-defeating ploy of retreating en masse to the edge of their own box.
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Spain substitution: Mayoral on, Llorente off.
Germany substitution: Kohr on, Haberer off.
82 min: Bellerin knocks the ball past Gerhardt and tires to dash after it. But Gerhardt is not as slow as he suspected.
Germany substitution: Amiri on, Gnabry off.
79 min: Meyer is the latest German player into the book. Asensio attempts to dish out further punishment from the freekick but curls it into the wall.
78 min: Excellent play by Williams - and excellent refereeing by Monsieur Bastien, who did not award a freekick after Gerhardt went down following a strong shoulder by Williams. The winger then pinged in a wicked cross from the right, which Germany put out for a corner.
76 min: Deulofeu’s fierce low shot from 16 yards is deflected out for a corner.
75 min: Lovely composed play by Germany takes them from a stressful position in their own box all the way to the opposing one. But then their move breaks down and Bellerin races forward on a counter-attack. He slips the ball to Williams at the edge of the German area and sprints into the box demanding the return pass. But Germany cut it out!
72 min: Ceballos ghosts past three opponents and thwacks an excellent shot from 20 yards inches past the post! That’s more like it from Spain!
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Spain substitution, at last: Williams on, Ramirez off.
71 min: Since we have already established that the Spanish players don’t like singing, here’s someone else summing up their approach to this game in song.
69 min: Spain’s manager, Albert Celades, seems to have been shocked into paralysis. His team don’t look like getting back into this game but he has yet to make any change.
67 min: Vallejo gives the ball away with a sloppy pass out from the back. Weiser glides towards the box and nudges the ball to Gnabry. Two defenders converge on him and Spain seem set to quash the danger ... but then more sloppiness gifts the ball back to Weiser, who shoots first time from 12 yards! Bellerin throws himself in front of it to make a saving block.
64 min: Having been pushed up against a wall for the first 15 minutes of this half, Germany have shoved their assailant back and are looking dangerous again. You sense that a second goal for them would clinch victory because Spain have not really looked like scoring, even during their bright spell.
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62 min: A deft throughball from Meyer enables Gnabry to run behind Mere. He bears down on goal from the left. Arrizabalaga comes out to close down the angle. Gnabry tries to poke it past him but the keeper saves with his feet.
61 min: Germany launch a breakaway and comes close to scoring but Saul slides it to make an outstanding block on Weiser, who tried to guide the ball into the net from 12 yards. Gnabry bangs the rebound wide from outside the area.
60 min: Saul takes down a long diagonal ball on his chest, then drifts a few yards to his right and unleashes a vicious curling shot from 22 yards. It’s a fine effort, but the keeper dives to push it away with both hands.
58 min: Deulofeu dazzles his way past Gerhardt, but Gnabry retreats to help out his full-back and snuff out the danger. Deulofeu is annoyed but he could learn something from that little episode.
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56 min: Weiser clips an opponent slightly late. Llorente charges over to the ref to demand a booking. His wish is granted - except he’s the one to get the card. That’ll learn him. Or not.
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54 min: Saul feeds Deulofeu, whose attempted cross is put out for a throw-in. But Spain are starting to look a tad more dangerous, having quickened the tempo and begun to stretch the German defence.
52 min: Another booking for Germany and this one is deserved, as Stark’s challenge mid-way inside his own half was oafish.
51 min: Haberer lunges at the ball and pokes it off the foot of Llorente. The Spaniard goes spinning to the grass, clutching his foot as if it might fall of. Which is odd, because Haberer didn’t touch him. The ref is duped, however, and books the German.
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49 min: Deulofeu reacts with fury after not being given a penalty when he goes down in the box under a fair challenge by Gerhardt. Ramirez then concedes a freekick for shunting Arnold to the ground - a little bit of vengeance for the clunk of a moment ago, but also a sign of Spain’s mounting frustration.
47 min: The first yellow card of the game is shown to Arnold for clunking into Ramirez from behind.
46 min: Spain are going to try to get back into this with the same personnel that were second-best in the first-half.
Germany have had 55% possession so far. That’ll probably offend Spain more than the scoreline.
Half-time: Germany 1-0 Spain
Germany deserve their lead. They’ve been stronger and sharper and generally controlled most of the game so far. They’ve threatened regularly down the wings and stopped Spain from finding a groove. And their goal was most elegant, snappily created and slickly finished.
44 min: Deulofeu sprints after a pass down the right but can’t get to it before it runs out play so gives the linesman what-for. That’s music to the ears to the German singers. “Don’t know about Gnabry, but Deulofeo looks to me like the same player as he’s looked at Everton, Sevilla and Milan. Pacy with lots of skill, selfish, very slack defensively,” reckons Gene Salorio. “He would win some games and entertain the fans for a mid to lower-mid table team, but no more than a late sub when chasing a game for a team that is contending for trophies.”
42 min: Deulofeu catches out the German defence with a smart low pass from deep. Ramirez tries to run on to it, but Pollersbeck bails out his defenders by hurtling out of his box to tidy up.
GOAL! Germany 1-0 Spain (Weiser 40)
A cross from the right by Toljan and a clever, skilful looping header in front of the near post by Weiser from eight yards out! The keeper was bewildered by it and by the time he figured out where the ball was going it was too late for him to do anything about it! That’s a deserved lead for Germany.
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39 min: Haberer has a pop from 25 yards and elicits a cheer from the crowd for managing to get the ball over the stand behind the goal.
37 min: Arnold attempts to deliver a freekick into the danger zone. He fails to beat the first man. That should incur an on-the-spot fine. “I am pretty sure Spain will turn this around,” announces Ishan Iqbal. You certainly can’t fault his reasoning.
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35 min: Deulofeu may be useless defensively but he’s nifty going forward. Gerhardt had to strain to put his latest cross out for a corner. Again the corner produces nothing. Spain have done nothing so far to suggest their setpieces are anything to fear.
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32 min: Way to lose control! Gerhardt donks the ball to Rairez while attempting to play his way out from his own box. The Spaniard plays a tasty backflick to Saul, whose shot from the edge of the box is bloked.
30 min: Germany continue to impress. They’re pretty much controlling the game at the moment, with Arnold at the hub of everything. “Winning the Euro U21 championship is all well and good, but it’s not as if these two nations do it at full international level, is it?” quips Simon McMahon. It’s a fair point. Not a single Copa America victory between them.
28 min: Gerhardt makes inroads down the left yet again - he’s got the upperhand on Bellerin so far, mainly because Deulofeu is offering no help whatsoever to the Arsenal man (there’s another part of the answer to the question on 26 mins). The latest cross is cleared at the near post.
26 min: The game is getting a bit niggly, principally because Spain are becoming frustrated at not being able to get the ball as often as expected. This is an interesting test for the youngsters’ bottle as much as their talent. “This match gives us a chance to see two conundrums - Gnabry and Deulofeu,” parps Black Einstein. “Both having good tournos but failed in the PL. Why?” Because the Premier League is harder than an U-21 tournament?
23 min: The mismatch that some chancers (ahem) predicted has not yet materialised. Germany are giving as good as they get here, perhaps even better, as they’re disrupting Spain more effectively than Spain are disrupting them. And they’re delivering regularly getting into good crossing positions, with the full-backs, Toljan and especially Gerhardt, mounting regular raids.
21 min: Arnold lofts the freekick beyond the far post. Gnabry meets it on the volley but doesn’t catch it very well. It bounces off a defender and back to him so he can try again, but it comes at him fast and he can;t sort out his feet quickly enough to get enough power in the shot to beat the keeper from seven yards. Easy save.
20 min: Llorente gets a stern lecture from the referee for shoving Gnabry to the ground as the winger threatened to blast past him. It’s a freekick in a good crossing position. Meanwhile, here’s a free language lesson. I’ve no idea whether this is accurate so I’m relying on Rogorn Moradan’s integrity to ensure I’m not publishing some grievous swearing.
@paul_doyle "Get it into the mixer" = "Cuélgala a la olla" (hang it into the cooking pot)
— Rogorn Moradan (@Rogorn) June 30, 2017
17 min: Deulofeu skins Toljan down the left wing, feinting one way and then darting the other. He then opens fire from the corner of the box, but it’s diverted behind for a corner. Which yields nothing, owing to Asensio’s poxy delivery.
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14 min: Gerhardt fires in a low cross from the left. Gnabry controls it brilliantly, taking the pace out of it while teeing himself up for a thumping volley. But he thumps it into the sidenetting! It was a tight angle, in fairness. “What with the lack of words for the Spanish anthem their being outsung ain’t nothing new,” suggests Nicholas Kelleher. The absence of words is an invitation to be creative: humming, dance and mime are among the options eschewed today. Inauspicious for a side supposedly full of flair.
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12 min: Corner to Spain. Asensio sends it into el mixer. It comes out the far side but they send it back in again and Bellerin leaps well to apply a dainty header, which glides inches wide!
9 min: Arnold sends a shot swirling just wide from 25 yards. Suddenly Spain aren’t looking so chipper.
7 min: That’s more like it from Germany! They work the ball wide to Wesier, who lashes in a shot/cross from an acute angle, forcing the keeper to tip it over for a corner. Arnold curls it in. It’s cleared but Germany regain possession and then fire in another cross, which Meyer meets about 15 yards out. He sends an curling header goalward .... and it strikes the outside of the post and goes behind!
5 min: Spain are looking ominously good. They’re pinging the ball around with imagination, speed and finesse. Germany, who danced around England, are being made to look quite lubberly.
3 min: Llorente pesters Arnold into conceding a corner: Spain’s frantic pressing paying early dividends there. They take the corner short and it comes to nought. A strange decision given how woeful Germany’s attempt to defend corners against England were. What’s Spanish for ‘get it into the mixer, son”? Don’t tell me the concept doesn’t exist in Spain.
2 min: Germany spend the first minute acquainting themselves with the ball, trying to develop a relationship with it, earn its trust. But Spain are determined interlopers and soon get between the would-be lovers.
1 min: The 2017 U-21 European Championship final is go! By my watch, there are 90 minutes left.
Germany gain an important psychological edge by outsinging their rivals during the anthems. They really laid down a marker there.
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The teams march out on to the pitch. The crowd are happy and loud; Spain are in their traditional red shirts, blue shorts and black socks; Germany are in their traditional white shirts, black knicks and white socks; all is right with the world.
“Never mind about Boothroyd’s prognosis, what do you think will happen,” hollers Graham Linsley. I’m touched that you care, Graham. I think Spain will win. By an absolute bin-load if Germany defend as cackfootedly as they did against England. Let’s say 4-1.
Here’s Boothroyd’s prognosis: “I think it’s going to be an open game because both teams are going to want to dominate possession. I think the team that defends well while they’re on the attack will win the game. But it could also come down to a setpiece.” He doesn’t appear to be suggesting that either of the teams should sit back and wallop the ball forward to a lone front man whenever they get it. Lessons may have been learnt.
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Aidy Boothroyd is a-punditin’ in the Sky Sports studio today. But he’s not wearing his waistcoat so I’m not sure how seriously he’s taking the job.
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If Spain win today, it will be their fifth triumph in this tournament, bringing them level with Italy’s record. If Germany prevail, however, it will be that country’s second victory, giving them the same tally as England.
Welcome to the future. Spain’s youngsters have swaggered to this final with such brio that they look to embarrassing senior opponents across the world for years to come. They are strong favourites to win today, even though Germany - without of their best youngsters - outclassed England in the semi-final and would have trounced Aidy Boothroyd’s team if not for shoddy finishing. Their chances of finishing better today have been hampered by the absence of their best striker, Selke, who is only fit enough for a place on the bench. So Philipp will move further forward to serve as a striker and, hopefully for him, have his sights aligned better than they were in the semi, when he bungled a slew of chances (before, naturally, scoring in the shootout).
TEAMS
Germany: Pollersbeck; Toljan, Stark, Kempf, Gerhardt; Haberer; Weiser; Meyer, Arnold, Gnabry; Philipp
Subs: Schwäbe, Vlachodimos, Anton, Jung, Dahoud, Silke, Platte, Klünter, Kehrer, Amiri, Oztunali, Kohr
Spain: Arrizabalaga; Bellerin, Meré, VAllejo, Jonny; Saul Niguez, Llorente, Ceballos; Asensio, Ramirez, Deulofeu
Subs: Blanco, Pau, Gaya, Mayoral, Suarez, Merino, Williams, Odriozola, Oyarzabal, Soler, Hernandez, Gonzlaez
Referee: B Bastien (Fra)
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Paul will be here shortly. Here’s Ed Aarons on the tournament’s star so far, Spanish midfielder Saúl Ñíguez:
Saúl Ñíguez, like several of his Spain team‑mates who will contest the European Under-21 Championship final on Friday night, has a point to prove. For the second and final time the Atlético Madrid midfielder, whose brilliant hat-trick destroyed Italy in the semi-final on Tuesday, will attempt to win this competition, at the end of an international youth career that started in 2009 for the under-16 side.
Saúl, 22, will win his 48th cap at youth level in Krakow against Germany having secured only one title – the European Under-19 Championship in 2012 after La Rojita surprisingly failed to qualify for the Under-21 finals last time, when Saúl was suffering from a debilitating kidney injury. He also missed out on selection for the star-studded team who won a second successive tournament at the 2013 edition, from which Álvaro Morata, Thiago Alcântara, Isco and Koke are firmly established in the senior set-up.
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