Highlights of England U19s scoring four goals in 11 minutes to draw 5-5 against Germany at this summer’s Euros in Romania.
In quite the European Under-19 Championship match in Bucharest on Tuesday evening, trailing 4-1 at half time and falling further behind early in the second half, England, led by manager Will Antwi, produced quite the comeback.
Earlier, Germany took a 2-0 lead through Noah Darvich and Said El Mala, with Josh King pulling one back for the Young Lions before Germany went ahead again.
Then Ethan Wheatley, Reiss Russell-Denny, Zach Abbott, and Jesse Derry found the net, with the game ending in a 5-5 draw, also making it the highest-scoring game in the tournament’s history.
England now sit 2nd in Group B standings, with two points from two games, following a 2-2 draw with Norway. They will next come up against the Netherlands, while Germany play Norway, with the top two teams from each group advancing to the semi-finals on 23 June, and the final set for the 26th of June in Bucharest.
Sit back, relax, and have a watch of this…
5-1 down against Germany. Then four goals in 11 minutes to make it 5-5.
The highlights from an absolutely extraordinary #U19EURO game for our #YoungLions 😳 pic.twitter.com/6cCTblB3eK
— England (@England) June 18, 2025
Goals:
7’ Germany 1-0 England
31’ Germany 2-0 England
35’ Germany 2-1 England
41’ Germany 3-1 England
44’ Germany 4-1 England
48’ Germany 5-1 England
52’ Germany 5-2 England
55’ Germany 5-3 England
60’ Germany 5-4 England
63’ Germany 5-5 England
England: 1 Tommy Setford (Arsenal), 4 Stephen Mfuni (Manchester City), 5 Zach Abbott (Nottingham Forest), 12 Caleb Kporha (Crystal Palace), 20 Jayden Meghoma (Brentford), 6 Kiano Dyer (Chelsea), 10 Josh King (Fulham), 16 Reiss Russell-Denny (Tottenham Hotspur), 7 Samuel Amo-Ameyaw (RC Strasbourg), 9 Ethan Wheatley, 19 Jesse Derry (Crystal Palace)
Substitutes: 8 Justin Oboavwoduo (Manchester City) for Russell-Denny 89’, 15 Kadan Young (Royal Antwerp, loan from Aston Villa) for Amo-Ameyaw 45’, 18 Shumaira Mheuka (Chelsea) for King 77’, 17 Tom Watson (Sunderland) for Derry 77’, 14 Harrison Murray-Campbell (Chelsea) for Abbott 89’
Substitutes not used: 13 Finlay Herrick (GK) (West Ham United), 2 Triston Rowe (Aston Villa), 3 Joe Johnson (Luton Town)
Goals: King 35’, Wheatley 52’, Russell-Denny 55’, Abbott 61’, Derry 63’
Head Coach: Will Antwi
“We knew it was never over,” explained Jesse Derry, per the englandfootball.com website. “We went into the dressing room at half time and nobody’s heads were down. We knew we could come back.
“At the end of the day, we’re England and we know what we can bring. We knew the game was never going to be over until the final whistle. I’m just so proud of all the boys to keep going until the last kick of the ball.
“We looked at the scoreboard at the end of the game and it just looked like a FIFA game. It was the maddest thing I’ve ever had playing football. I don’t think I’d be able to recreate that emotion. I will definitely never forget this.”
“I can’t really describe it,” added Ethan Wheatley. “The first half, it didn’t go to plan like you could see. I thought we had some good moments but on the transition at half time, we said that we need to tighten up and I think that’s what we did in the second half.
“We knew what was at stake when it went to 5-1. I couldn’t stop laughing when we got the third and fourth. I thought, ‘right, we’re going to do it now’. The lads showed top resilient and togetherness and fortunately, we got the equaliser.
“We probably could’ve pushed for the winner, but everything is to play for against the Netherlands now.”
“I think we showed good spirit,” said Will Antwi. “That’s what you want to see. This moment will live with them for a long, long time. These are the experiences they’re after. That’s what it’s for.
“On the sideline, it’s frustrating because you see things that sometimes, it’s difficult to control. You want to get on there and see if you can help but you have to find a way of supporting and staying positive and find the energy to keep wishing them on when they’re 5-1 down and still maintain that belief because they need that anchor.
“The players then keep going and if anything, it’s a shame we couldn’t find a winner to make it a really, really glorious game.”
“I’m here to encourage, I’m here to keep them going, I’m here to ensure they find a way to hang in there to find a way to survive and eventually, to find a way to thrive,” explained Antwi.
“We now have it in our favour that if we win our game, we’re through, so that’s going to be our approach.”
“We know we’re not through yet,” Derry added. “We’ve just got to take what we’ve learnt from this game into the next one.”
“We’ve not had the results that we’ve wanted but after that second half and you’ve seen the togetherness and belief we’ve got in the squad, we just need to get those three points now,” said Wheatley. “It’s all eyes on that game now.”
