England vs Germany

England Under-21s and Germany Under-21s will battle for a fourth European Championship title in the 2025 final at Bratislava’s Tehelne Pole on Saturday.

The Young Lions aim to defend their 2023 title, facing a German side that defeated them 2-1 in the group stage earlier this month. England’s 2023 victory ended a 39-year drought, and they now strive to be the first team to retain the title since Spain’s 2011-2013 triumphs.

Lee Carsley’s squad, which led qualifying with 41 goals, finished second in Group B behind Germany with four points (W1 D1 L1). They advanced past Spain 3-1 in a tight quarter-final and secured a 2-1 semi-final win over the Netherlands, with Harvey Elliott scoring twice, including a late winner.

England have lost just once in their last 12 Under-21 Euros matches—against Germany in the group stage (W10 D1). The last team to win a final after losing to the same opponent earlier in the tournament was the Netherlands in 2006 against Ukraine.

This will be England’s third Euros final clash with Germany. They won 5-4 on aggregate in 1982, but Germany dominated 4-0 in 2009 with goals from Sandro Wagner (2), Gonzalo Castro, and Mesut Ozil.

Leading the tournament in possession (58.6%) and passing accuracy (89.6%), England, under Carsley’s guidance, are confident in their ability to overcome Germany in Saturday’s final.

Germany have been the tournament’s standout team, maintaining a perfect record with five wins and a tournament-high 15 goals. They topped Group B, defeating Czech Republic, Slovenia, and England, before a 3-2 extra-time quarter-final win over a nine-man Italy and a 3-0 semi-final rout of France.

Stuttgart’s Nick Woltemade, rumored to be Bayern Munich-bound, leads the tournament with six goals, scoring in all four of his appearances except the group-stage win over England. Coach Antonio di Salvo has built a dominant side, unbeaten in 20 matches across all competitions since a 2-0 loss to England in the 2023 Euros group stage.

Germany, appearing in their sixth final and fourth in the last five tournaments, have won in 2017 and 2021. Only Spain (nine) and Italy (seven) have reached more finals. Di Salvo is focused on capping their stellar campaign with a victory, with Germany winning three of their last four competitive matches against England, including one via penalties.