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England 1-0 Spain: James Trafford saves last-gasp penalty as England win dramatic UEFA European Under-21 Championship
England’s Under-21s are champions of Europe following a dramatic 1-0 victory over Spain at the Batumi Stadium in Georgia. A closely-fought contest was settled thanks to a deflected Cole Palmer free kick which hit teammate Curtis Jones before nestling in the back of the net. James Trafford denied Spain an equaliser at the death with a stoppage-time penalty save that also saw him repel the rebound.
Curtis Jones’ deflected goal and James Trafford’s 99th-minute penalty save helped England win the Under-21 European Championship for the first time since 1984.
Lee Carsley’s England side beat Spain 1-0 in the final in Georgia and won the tournament without conceding a goal.
England took the lead on the stroke of half-time when Cole Palmer’s free kick deflected off Jones before wrong-footing goalkeeper Arnau Tenas and nestling into the far corner.
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There was late drama when Colwill was adjudged to have fouled Ruiz after a VAR check, however the Spain captain saw his stoppage-time spot-kick saved by Trafford to spark euphoric scenes for England.
It’s the third time in their history that England have won the tournament.
England had a couple of early chances to go ahead, both fuelled by an electric Antony Gordon down the left-hand side, but were inches away from an opener on both occasions.
Palmer was at full stretch but couldn't turn in the rebound from Gordon’s low driven strike at the back post and moments later, Gordon’s cross for Morgan Gibbs-White - with the goal gaping - was slightly out of reach for the Nottingham Forest midfielder.
Spain grew into the game after a shaky start but struggled to trouble Trafford in the England net.
England, who had dropped off after a bright start, threatened again when Colwill’s header from a dead ball skimmed off the turf before crashing off the top of the post.
However, their persistence eventually paid off when Palmer’s free kick took a deflection off Jones and beyond goalkeeper Tenas on the stroke of half-time.
Spain thought they were back on level terms five minutes after the restart when Ruiz’s fierce header troubled Trafford, who couldn’t stop the ball from crossing the line, but breathed a sigh of relief when the assistant referee raised his flag for offside.
Spain pushed for an equaliser towards the end of the match and were awarded a penalty in the 98th minute when Colwill caught the boot of Ruiz mid-air as the pair jumped to meet a cross.
The late VAR check showed Ruiz had made contact with the ball first, and referee Espen Eskaas had no choice other than to award the spot-kick.
Ruiz stepped up but was dramatically denied by Trafford before the Manchester City goalkeeper also saved the rebound to secure the tournament with virtually the last kick of the game.
England stood firm in the final few seconds - just as they had done all tournament - to win the trophy for the first time in 39 years.
TALKING POINT - TRAFFORD’S DOUBLE SAVE TOPS A STUNNING DEFENSIVE DISPLAY
England have become European champions without conceding a single goal.
The immaculate record looked in doubt when Spain were awarded a penalty deep into added time, but it was written in the stars for Trafford - who has been exceptional in Georgia and Romania - to step up one last time and pull off the unthinkable.
PLAYER OF THE MATCH - JAMES TRAFFORD (ENGLAND)
A sensational end to a stunning tournament for Trafford.
Not only did he guess right to deny Spain’s captain with almost the last kick of the game, but he was also alert to pull off another brilliant save to stop Aimar Oroz.
There’s a reason he’s one of the most sought-after young goalkeepers in the game at the moment, and he has certainly proved his worth over the last couple of weeks.
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Lee Carsley received a message of congratulations from Jack Grealish in the wake of England U21s' 3-2 victory over Germany in the final of the European Championships on Saturday. England netted an extra-time winner through Jonathan Rowe. The victory sees Carsley match Dave Sexton's achievements of 1982 and 1984 by winning successive U21 Euros with England.
Lee Carsley received a message of congratulations from Jack Grealish in the wake of England U21s claiming a second successive European Championship with an extra-time win over Germany.
Substitute Jonathan Rowe nodded home the winner for England in Bratislava, after Germany had come back from two goals down to take Saturday’s Euro 2025 final to extra-time.
The victory saw Carsley match Dave Sexton's achievements of 1982 and 1984 by winning successive European U21 Championships with England.
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"Another amazing achievement! What a manager this guy is. Deserves it."
Ahead of the Euros, Carsley signed a new contract to extend his stay as U21s boss to 2027.
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Harvey Elliott after scoring England's first goal in the win over Germany
Image credit: Getty Images
And the 51-year-old, who won five of his six games as the England senior side’s interim coach at the end of last year, is already talking about going for a hat-trick of European crowns in two years' time.
"I suppose the challenge now is to do it again in two years," said Carsley, via the BBC.
"Funnily enough, on Saturday I got the new squad of players that are potentially available for the next campaign so I'm not thinking about moving on too quickly."
Asked whether he would be working alongside Tuchel at the 2026 World Cup, Carsley added: "I'm not sure.
"I'm very proud of the job that I do and I love working with the players.
"Obviously, I've had a chance with the senior team as well and I loved that, so the best thing I can do is help the pathway and help the senior team."
Of his side's back-to-back success, Carsley said: "The lazy thing as coaches would be to just try to reproduce what we've done last time [in 2023], but we've done it totally differently.
"We thought outside the box with our training, about tactics and with the way we wanted to play with our squad selection.
"All these instructions we've tried to put into them have been taken on board so quickly. This squad believes that they can win and that's the kind of players we need."
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U21 Euro 2025 final recap - England beat Germany in European Championship thriller as Jonathan Rowe's extra-time header completes title defence
ENGLAND EDGE OUT GERMANY TO COMPLETE SUCCESSFUL EURO U21 TITLE DEFENCE
England completed a successful defence of their European Under-21 Championship title defence, as Jonathan Rowe's extra-time header sealed a dramatic 3-2 victory over Germany.
The Young Lions were pegged back having led 2-0 in Bratislava through Harvey Elliott and Omari Hutchinson, with Nelson Weiper and Paul Nebel levelling the final.
However, substitute Rowe headed in what proved to be the winner in the 92nd minute as Lee Carsley's side became the first nation to defend this title on separate occasions.
The defending champions made a bright start and were rewarded after just five minutes. Germany failed to clear after Noah Atubolu denied Hutchinson, and Elliott confidently swept into the bottom corner.
James McAtee and Jay Stansfield went close before England doubled their advantage in the 24th minute. McAtee latched onto Elliott's dinked pass and did well to retain possession before teeing up Hutchinson, who drilled home through Atubolu's legs.
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However, their lead was slashed in half just before the break, as Nebel's cross was powerfully headed beyond James Beadle by Weiper.
Germany then equalised on the hour mark when a deep corner fell kindly for Nebel, whose shot nestled in the top corner via a slight Stansfield deflection.
Antonio Di Salvo's side almost completed the turnaround in stoppage time, but Nebel saw another deflected strike crash against the crossbar, with the contest heading into extra-time.
It was there that, with only his third touch of the ball, Lowe sprung the offside trap to meet Tyler Morton's deep cross, and plant a header firmly beyond Atubolu's reach.
England had to defend deep as the clock ticked down and the woodwork came to their rescue again in stoppage time, with Merlin Rohl's fierce volley denied by the crossbar, as they held out for an historic triumph.
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Let's share some reaction from the matchwinner Jonathan Rowe...
"Everyone's exceptional," he said. "From the minute I came into the camp, I could just tell that everyone had the same mindset and all wanted to win. We've done that now and the job's finally finished. We can all celebrate and go back to our clubs.
"I came into the game with the mindset of doing what I could to help the team. I knew, at some point, all of us on the bench would have to come on and make a difference, and push the team over the line."
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