Germany are through to the U-21 EURO Final! In likely the most exciting run in German football over the last few years, the U-21s have beaten England, Italy, and now France to advance to the Final where they will face a familiar foe in England.

How did it happen? Let’s dive in.

Germany’s attacking options have cooled off

Earlier on in the tournament, virtually every German forward was in top form. Perhaps the fatigue of the tournament has set in, as aside from VfB Stuttgart’s Nick Woltemade and Mainz 05’s Nelson Weiper, the rest of the players have been disappointing. Brajan Gruda (Brighton & Hove Albion) has struggled and finally got benched, and Ansgar Knauff (Eintracht Frankfurt) and Paul Nebel (Mainz) couldn’t get much going either.

However, credit to Paul Wanner — a Bayern Munich loanee who played last season for FC Heidenheim — for coming on late and providing a great assist for Germany’s third goal. Credit to Brajan Gruda as well, as he did manage to redeem his poor play this tournament as well with a late goal, and was generally energizing in the attack when he came on.

Mathys Tel could not come up big

The French forward and former Bayern talent (now at Tottenham Hotspur) is perhaps the biggest name on the field alongside Nick Woltemade. Tel had shown great flashes this tournament thus far but did not come up with much when it mattered against Germany. While it is just one game, it is easy to criticize his performance today. Too often Tel tried to do too much, which seems to be his downfall.

Bayern Munich need to sign Nick Woltemade

Yes, Bayern does have Harry Kane. However, signing Woltemade still just makes too much sense. A potential striker for the next 10 years for the senior national team, he is lights out at scoring in the box and quite free-flowing and roams the box well. The Stuttgart striker compliments his fellow attackers extremely well, and could possibly fit with Kane for Bayern. At his current price, Woltemade would be a great option for the future, but could end up costing €70 million or more if he keeps this up.

Defensive issues solved

It might be too early to call, but it looked like the German defense was far improved today. Bright Arrey-Mbi (Braga) appears to be picking up form and the rest of the backline did a great job. Losing Max Rosenfelder (SC Freiburg) in the first few minutes was concerning, but the team handled it excellently. The French were all attack for basically 75 minutes but Germany played their best defense of the tournament to shut them out.

Why not win it all?

Early on in the tournament, it already started to feel like there was something special about this team. A feeling that can sometimes come from overconfidence and perhaps too much emotion, but after beating England, it felt real. While the Italy game felt like a setback, Germany clearly moved forward with grace. Now Germany will face England in the Final, a team they already defeated while resting their A-squad. Who says no?

What did you think about the match? Let us know in the comments below!