U20 Elite League: Ten-man England end Germany’s perfect start

England U20 extended their winning run against Germany U20 to six games.

Eric da Silva Moreira

Daniela Porcelli/Getty Images for DFB

Germany U20’s six-game U20 Elite League winning streak came to an end as they lost 2-1 to ten-man England in La Nucia, Spain.

England U20 had a solid start to the game, although Hannes Wolf’s side also created chances through Rafael Pinto Pedrosa and Max Moerstedt. There was no breakthrough from either side until the 38th minute, though.

Shea Lacey, who was earlier denied by Bayer Leverkusen loanee Luca Erlein, provided an excellent assist to Shumaira Mheuka’s strike. The Celtic striker found the net in back-to-back U20 Elite League matches.

However, Darren Moore’s side suffered a huge blow in first-half injury-time. Lacey’s Manchester United teammate Jack Fletcher saw a straight red card after his harsh challenge on Boris Mamuzah Lum.

Lum tested Oliver Whatmuff from the resulting free-kick, but Germany lost momentum after the restart. Köln’s Mikey Moore, who was instantly awarded the captain’s armband in his first U20 call-up, was denied by the half-time substitute Lio Rothenhagen before Kian Noble doubled the advantage for ten-man England.

At the other end, two more substitutes made an impact as Eric da Silva Moreira brought Germany back into the game with half an hour still left on the clock. Whatmuff needed treatment for an injury after his unsuccessful attempt to block the Excelsior midfielder from reaching Paul Erevbenagie’s cross.

Germany U20 dominated the rest of the game, but they couldn’t find a breakthrough to keep their unbeaten start. Almugera Kabar hit the post from a brilliant free-kick in the last meaningful action of the evenly-contested encounter. Moore’s England are top of the group with a perfect record after three rounds, while Germany are tied with Poland on six points. 

The last six head-to-head games between the sides all ended with England's victories. Germany will play two more U20 Elite League games in November’s international break. The away fixtures in Poland and Czechia will be the last ones for Wolf’s group before the turn of the year.