The trophy is lifted and Spain can celebrate. Report to follow from Ben Fisher...
Updated
Spain were the better team, far more blessed with skill and invention than their German opponents. Revenge is gained for 2017 and that’s the fifth time they have won this trophy, and the third in the last decade, having won in 2011 and 2013, too. Dani Olmo, perhaps the best player on the pitch, along with with fellow goalscorer Fabian Ruiz, scored the decisive goal. Andrea Pirlo brings out the trophy for them to collect, hair and beard immaculate.
🇪🇸 Dani Olmo dinks in second for Spain! 💪#U21EURO #ESPGER pic.twitter.com/zPCLd4nHJw
— UEFA U21 EURO (@UEFAUnder21) June 30, 2019
⏰ RESULT ⏰
— UEFA U21 EURO (@UEFAUnder21) June 30, 2019
🇪🇸 Spain are #U21EURO champions for the 5th time! 🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆#ESPGER @SeFutbol
Updated
Spain are European champions!
90+4 min: Merino has a shot, and that is the last action of the game...
Updated
90+2 min: Soler, Ceballos and Dani Alves give the ball away when being too intricate once more. Germany try to pile forward, but can’t get it in the box. There is no target man for them. Where did you go, Mario Gomez, a nation turns its lonely eyes to you?
Updated
90 min: Can Germany force another chance? They force a corner first. Richter’s cross is cleared. Henrichs is wasteful with a chipped ball forward. Three minutes were added on, and Sivera is taking his time again, having been booked for timewasting already.
Goal! Spain 2-1 Germany (Amiri, 88)
Oh, what’s this? Amiri, at last, gets a proper shot in, though it comes off Vallejo to deflect into the net.
Updated
87 min: Spain playing keep-ball comfortably enough. They have the players to do it. Germany chasing shadows.
86 min: Dani Olmo holds the ball down in the corner, until Klostermann manages to force a goal kick.
84 min: Spain keeper Sivera is booked for timewasting. His team-mates do look tired, it has to be said. But so do Germany, in truth.
83 min: Oh, was that the chance? Nmecha’s backheel fell at the feet of Waldschmidt, who dragged his shot wide. That was a waste, and the Vespa-riding vegan knows it.
81 min: Soler hits the post! He does it with a delicate, guided nine-iron chip, whipped beyond Nubel’s wingspan. There is real artistry among this team. And Soler is supposed to be the direct one.
80 min: Ceballos is fouled by Richter, when having beaten his opponent for skill. If he doesn’t have a future at Real Madrid, he has a future somewhere or other.
78 min: Off comes Ruiz, who was tired, and on comes Merino, once of Newcastle. Germany make their final sub, too. Nmecha is on for Eggestein.
77 min: Spain so intricate. Perhaps too intricate. Mayoral made another flick and Ceballos has a shot blocked. Maybe they could just have ploughed on and shot.
75 min: Almost a third for Spain. Amazing link between Mayoral and Ruiz, who runs on and shoots at goal. Or does he cross? It evades both post and Firpo, who was busting a gut to get to the ball.
74 min: Fabian Ruiz gives it away again, and it takes some decent keeping from Sivera to smother the danger.
72 min: Nunez is booked for a tactical foul, and on comes Mayoral for Fornals, while Richter comes on for Germany in place of Öztunali. It’s all happening.
Updated
Goal! Spain 2-0 Germany (Dani Olmo, 70)
Fabian Ruiz gives the ball away in dangerous position, perhaps tiring. Penalty claim? No, it looked like both players - Vallejo and Waldschmidt - missed the ball completely. And Spain break, with Ceballos and Fornals holding the ball up before Olmo dinks the ball over the keeper after Ruiz’s shot is deflected. A slight delay for VAR to check that Olmo was onside. He was.
Updated
66 min: The momentum is definitely with Germany now, but are yet to offer too much trouble to Sivera. And meanwhile, Spain are dangerous on the break. Ceballos’s reverse pass finds Dani Olmo in space but the shot is a little disappointing.
64 min: Neuhaus picks up more space and plays in Klostermann on the right, and another corner is forced. Amiri’s kick misses everyone. Then Fabian Ruiz comes back to clear up. The Napoli player has been excellent.
63 min: Henrichs comes forward from left-back, and forces a couple of glimpses of goal. Amiri, whose shooting has been wild tonight, fires over the bar.
61 min: Germany sub, on comes Serdar, who didn’t manage to impress on his first start of the championships, for Florian Neuhaus of Borussia Monchengladbach.
Updated
59 min: Waldschmidt gets another shooting chance but hits his shot into the ground. He had to hurry and couldn’t get the necessary purchase on the ball.
57 min: Soler is immediately lively and links with Dani Olmo though this time the ball is cleared.
55 min: Spain sub: Soler comes on, and Oyarzabal, who started well but faded, is off. Both players were unused subs back in that 2017 final.
54 min: Amiri chips the ball in after Dahoud, at last coming to the fore, plays him in. Waldschmidt can’t get there.
53 min: A Waldschmidt shot come in at last, and from the inside right position. The ball goes wide. Jogi Loew/Löw is glimpsed in the stands, hand across his nose once more.
51 min: Germany attempt to gain control and a show a bit of composure. They win a free-kick. Amiri lobs it to the back post, rather mystifyingly, and nothing comes of it. Let’s call that improvisation and improv doesn’t always come off.
49 min: If Germany lose, then Vallejo being allowed to participate is sure to be a point of discussion in post-match.
47 min: Close for Germany and Vallejo bails out his goalkeeper. Amiri’s shot bounced up and off Sivera and the captain wallops it out. He might have escaped a red card but he has shown off his qualities as a defender.
And we're back...
And the Spanish start up the metronome again, though the Germans will presumably be a bit wiser to their opponents by now.
David Brennan is back, and this time we agree, pretty much. “You are right about Low and Germany. German football going through a bad time right now. With an ageing Hummels returning to second place Dortmund, every other Bundesliga team is a feeder club to Bayern. Bundesliga clubs seem slow and prodding in the Champions League and what was their strength - in young German players coming through – also seems to be diminishing with German clubs buying a lot of young foreign players.”
One thing is that German clubs are not as ambitious as those in England. There is money there, but it is spent on infrastructure and making the fan experience good. It doesn’t add up to great football, for me, but the fans have a better life over there.
Here’s the aim for those young U21 players (some of them are actually already 23). Be as good as this chap.
Winner in 2000 🏅
— UEFA U21 EURO (@UEFAUnder21) June 30, 2019
Best player in 2000 🌟
2019 #U21EURO ambassador 🙌#ESPGER | @Pirlo_official pic.twitter.com/nkYnYZjKwl
Half-time: Spain 1-0 Germany
Spain close the half out in possession, as they have done for much of the half. They caught Germany cold in those opening ten minutes. And have held their opponents at arm’s length since then. They are, though, just a goal up. They might also have been a goal down when Vallejo cleaned out Waldschmidt.
Updated
45+1 min: There are two minutes to be added on.
45 min: Spain are strangling their opponents, but their attacking has lost a bit of its bite as this half has gone on. Oyarzabal gets chance to break but is closed down and then Baumgartl comes across to stop Firpo surging on to the ball.
43 min: A good atmosphere in Udine, actually. Germany get a corner. Their first? Think so. Öztunali picks up the pieces after the ball is cleared and Vallejo deflects it behind. A third corner is forced as Nunez heads behind. Then comes a fourth when Nunez does the same again. This time, it’s cleared and Germany are pushed all the way back to their keeper.
39 min: Germany yet to force much in the way of coherent attack. In the stands, a Mexican wave is being performed. In this tournament, of course, England performed a defensive quirkafleeg.
37 min: Lovely turn and pirouette from Fornals, and he almost gets a rampaging Firpo away down the wing. It just falls short but there was a glimpse of Fornals’ quality. He and Felipe Anderson may need their own ball next season.
35 min: After some treatment to the wounded party, the ball is headed over by Serdar.
34 min: Yellow card for Vallejo! And it should be a red. Waldschmidt was speeding off into the distance and the Real Madrid player clatters Germany’s forward. That was high and brutal and VAR says there is no further sanction to be taken. They are happy with that? It was a shocker.
32 min: Ruiz, whose eye is in, tries a long-range free-kick. It smashes off the backboards. Olmo is again dangerous on the right, but then Oyarzabal commits a foul that eases German anxiety.
30 min: Danis Olmo and Ceballis have been linking down the right. Ruiz puts the ball forward for Oyarzabal to chase before Tah comes across to clear the danger.
Updated
28 min: It seems something of an oddity that Dani Olmo, who has been great so far, plays his football for Dinamo Zagreb. And he’s been there since 2014. There must be something to that story.
26 min: David Brennan: “Germany’s centre forward? See: Waldschmidt! 7 goals in 4 games!”
Well, yes, but he likes to drop back. That’s more an inside-forward. They score goals, you know. See Jimmy Greaves and Alfredo di Stefano for details. Raul, if you will. Waldschmidt is no Mick Harford, is he?
24 min: Junior Firpo has to step out to clear some German danger. Öztunali’s shot is deflected into Sivera’s arms. Germany better, but bitty.
23 min: Penalty claim for a foul on Oyarzabal? Waved away, and computer says no for VAR. There have been 14 penners in this tournament. No coincidence in this brave new world.
21 min: Amiri gets space, but was offside. Spain had stepped up. Luis de la Fuente Castillo is an old-school coach, it seems. That’s a quick win, and with VAR around not as risky as it used to be.
19 min: Germany looking a little more comfortable than they did at the start, when they looked harassed and in serious discomfort.
16 min: A German attack. Serdar’s pass, and Amiri fires a cross in, though nobody was close to being on the end of it. This is a team lacking in yer classical centre-forward like Rudi Voeller and Jurgen Klinsmann. Mario Gomez is younger than you think (33) but not young enough to play for this team.
14 min: The pass accuracy stats says Spain are making 91% and Germany 78% of their passes. Germany not bad considering, but it’s 78% of very few passes. Stefan Kuntz has swapped full-backs Klostermann for Henrichs and back again. Looks like they are following their attackers, who are drifting all over the shop. So much movement.
12 min: Spain force a corner with Oyarzabal’s skill and movement causing all types of problems. Oyarzabal, the Real Sociedad player, has been the main danger, barring that thunderous shot from Ruiz.
10 min: Jogi Loew is up in the stands, his hands over his nose...as well he might be, as his senior team have not had the best couple of years.
9 min: That was Spain’s first shot on goal bar a couple of blocks but they had dominated Germany. Heinrichs attempts to mount an attack and his ball bounces off a Spain defender but no corner. Nothing going his way.
Goal! Spain 1-0 Germany (Ruiz, 7)
Spain find the space in midfield to get Ruiz in space, from Oyarzabal’s flick. Germany pulled apart, and there was nothing goalkeeper Nubel could do about that.
Updated
6 min: First glimpse of Fornals, who is playing off the left of Spain’s attack. Olmo and Oyarzabal link, but the ball is blocked.
4 min: Germany enjoy a bit of possession for a short while, but it’s soon back with Spain. They are going to have to get through a lot of defensive work.
2 min: Spain’s style will be familiar to anyone who has watched their senior and junior teams play for the last decade or so. They intend to dominate possession. And usually do.
Off we go....
The matchball arrives on the field in a remote control car, a miniature of one of Uefa’s main sponsors...
The Serbian referee, Srdjan Jovanovic, is just 33.
The national anthems ring out though the Spanish don’t bother singing along to theirs....(I know, I know).
Bringing the trophy out is Andrea Pirlo, who captained Italy to winning this competition in 2000, captaining and top-scoring. Remember, back then, Pirlo was a number 10-type figure, rather than the deep-lying playmaker he is known as. And one of the greatest of all. Inter Milan let him go the next year. That went well for them.
Spain are unchanged from beating France 4-1, while Germany have made two changes from the team who beat Romania 4-2, with Benjamin Henrichs returns at left-back after suspension, with Maximilian Mittelstadt stepping back to the bench. Suat Serdar makes his first start of the entire tournament, replacing Florian Neuhaus in midfield.
Spain have scored 11 goals in three matches since losing their first game to Italy. Germany are unbeaten and have scored 14 goals. The semi-finals were both goalfests, which means this will be...well, it’s going to be a goalless draw, isn’t it?
The teams
Spain: Sivera, Aguirregabiria, Núñez Gestoso, Vallejo, Firpo, Roca, Ruiz, Olmo, Ceballos, Fornals, Oyarzabal
Subs: Martín, Meré, Soler, Merino, Mayoral, Vallejo Galván, Simón, Zubeldia, Lirola, Pedraza, Mir Vicente, Martín Fernández
Germany: Nübel, Klostermann, Tah, Baumgartl, Henrichs, Serdar, Eggestein, Dahoud, Öztunali, Waldschmidt, Amiri
Subs: Nmecha, Richter, Müller, Eggestein, Mittelstädt, Anton, Uduokhai, Neuhaus, Koch, Maier, Löwen, Schubert
Referee: Srdjan Jovanovic
Updated
Lalaina Nomenjanahary and Carolus Andriamahitsinoro scored the goals in this game. Paul Doyle has been copy and pasting away. More to follow when Uganda take on Egypt.
Updated
Only Ceballos and Vallejo survive from the 2017 final, something of a shock result at the time.
Here are the teams.
🇪🇸🆚🇩🇪 Team news for tonight's final in Udine...
— UEFA U21 EURO (@UEFAUnder21) June 30, 2019
🤔 Who's got the stronger starting XI?#U21EURO #ESPGER
UEFA reminding that Ceballos is a survivor from that 2017 final.
🇪🇸 Midfielder Dani Ceballos, who has 2 goals and 2 assists in Italy, was named player of the tournament when Spain were runners-up in 2017...#U21EURO pic.twitter.com/R1Lr8d04LM
— UEFA U21 EURO (@UEFAUnder21) June 30, 2019
He was in the process of joining Real Madrid from Betis at the time.
🙌🏻⚽️Today is the day. I have dreamt to live this moment again. There is no revenge in football, just new opportunities. No matter what happened yesterday nor what will happen tomorrow. And I am ready. We are ready. We are going to win! Let's go Spain!🇪🇸💪@sefutbol #EuroU21 pic.twitter.com/lHs0FdhkbR
— Daniel Ceballos (@DaniCeballos46) June 30, 2019
Updated
Preamble
Now that the English have to face down the fact that 2017 might have been the annus mirabilis of the Football Association’s Football England DNA project, it is time to recognise that no two nations churn out youngsters quite like Spain and Germany. Spain are looking to win a third Under-21 Championship since 2011, while Germany are defending champions, having beaten Spain two years ago in the final.
The German team coached by Stefan Kuntz, are fired by the goals of Luca Waldschmidt, currently of Freiburg, presumably headed for greater things, though he never made much of opportunities at Frankfurt or Hamburg and lives something of an alternative football lifestyle as a Vespa-riding vegan. He has scored seven times in four matches out in Italy and San Marino. The tournament record is eight goals, as set by Marcus Berg (remember him?) in 2009.
Spain’s star has been Dani Ceballos, of the new Real Madrid generation, one of just two players from Spain’s giants with Real teammate Jesús Vallejo alongside him. There are no Barcelona players in the squad. Those happy West Ham fans may want to see a bit more of Pablo Fornals, of whom much is expected in a Dimitri Payet kind of fashion. Another player to watch is left-back Junior Firpo, of Real Betis, a player linked with Liverpool, who seem to have a perfectly decent left-back these days but we all know how these things go.
Kick-off 7.45pm, UK time.
