Germany U19 5-5 England U19: A comeback for ages in U19 Euros | OneFootball

Although it was Germany who suffered a heavy defeat to the Netherlands, England made the most changes to their starting XI as their goal scorers from the 2-2 draw with Norway started this game on the bench.

Germany had a bright start to the game, and they were rewarded with the opening goal inside the first ten minutes. Said El Mala gets the better of Caleb Kporha on the left flank to set up the easy finish for his captain Noah Darvich.

England showed improvements after conceding the goal, but El Mala nearly doubled Germany’s lead in the 15th minute. In an end-to-end nature of the game, both teams had opportunities, but the lack of incisive passes in the final third restricted the number of chances.

However, there was no stopping of El Mala’s quick feet when he easily got past England’s captain Zach Abbott to score Germany’s second in the half-hour mark. El Mala, who had a strong end of the season at 3. Liga club Viktoria Köln, is using this tournament well to show readiness for a Bundesliga baptism with parent club 1. FC Köln.

England quickly reduced the deficit when Jayden Meghoma’s cross met by Fulham's Josh King. However, Germany regained their two-goal lead moments later thanks to Max Moerstedt’s deflected effort from range.

And, it was 4-1 at the half-time break with a fine finish from Leopold Wurm. The Jahn Regensburg center-back scored in both of his first two starts for Germany U19.

The goals continue to flow after the break as Germany hit five with a well-worked move finished off by the Man of the Match (at least, until that point), El Mala. With only ten minutes gone in the second-half, England made it 5-3 with quickfire goals from Ethan Wheatley and Reiss Russell-Denny.

And, by the 63rd minute, it’s 5-5 following yet another back-to-back goals by England. Abbott, who was dangerous all game from set-piece play, scored their fourth with a well-taken header before substitute Jesse Derry capitalized on Konstantin Heide’s mistake to put England level from a 5-1 deficit.

It only took 11 minutes for England U19 to score four goals in a historic comeback. As expected, they were the closest to take the lead after that, since Germany struggled to cope with how the game suddenly got out of their hands. In particular, set-piece play was the main weapon for Antwi’s side.

In the other game of the group, the Netherlands booked their place in the semi-final with a 2-0 success over Norway. Beating Norway will not be enough for Germany to progress, as their fate will rely on England’s result against the group winners. From Group A, holders Spain are in the semis, where they’ll be joined by either hosts Romania or Denmark.