Nathan Redmond misses penalty as England Under-21’s crash out
By Chris Hughes
Southampton winger Nathan Redmond missed the deciding penalty as Germany Under-21’s went through to the final of the European Championships.
It was a case of same old, same old for England tonight, as they lost on penalties to rivals Germany in the semi-final of the Under-21 European Championships.
The game finished 2-2 after 120 minutes, with Davie Selke and Demarai Gray scoring in the half half. The Young Lions took the lead shortly after the break, with the highly-rated Tammy Abraham giving England the lead.
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Striker Felix Platte then brought the game level once again in the 70th minute, forcing the game to extra time and then on to penalties.
Both sides scored their first and missed their second spot kicks, with Jordan Pickford on hand to make a save before Tammy Abraham was denied himself. Captain James Ward-Prowse then did Southampton proud by converting England’s fourth.
Nadiem Amiri then scored to make sure the fate of the shoot-out was in England’s hands, with substitute Nathan Redmond responsible for the Young Lions’ final kick. Much to the disappointment of boss Aidy Boothroyd, the Saints man’s penalty was saved.
The result denies England the opportunity to reach two major finals in as many weeks, with the Under-20’s winning their respective World Cup not too long ago.
Whilst JWP and Redmond featured in all four of England’s games, defensive duo Matt Targett and Jack Stephens failed to play a single minute, having been left on the bench for all of the side’s group matches as well as the semi-final.
Despite this Southampton’s representatives at the tournament can be proud of themselves, with Redmond scoring against Slovakia whilst James Ward-Prowse was consistent throughout with both his set-pieces and his leadership as captain.
However Saints fans may remember the tournament best for the performance of soon-to-be Southampton player Jan Bednarek, who was sent off against England for two bookable offences.