Under 21 Soccer

Germany to win on penalties

Despite being a final and a chance to become heroes back home at such a young age, i still expect quite an open game with plenty of chances at either end.

We seen England almost blow a 3 goal lead in the semi against Sweden. It was one of the most bizarre but entertaining games of the season. Pearces young stars played some fine football for an hour and were well worth the lead but they took their foot of the gas and lacked the experience to see the game out. The strange thing was as soon as Sweden got the 1st you could see the England stars begin to panic and in the end it took a penalty shoot out for them to sneak into the final after a 3-3 classic.

Germany, once again have been nothing special to watch and made the final without playing the greatest of football. But it is what this nation are fantastic at, getting results when they matter and results are everything in any tournament.

It looks as though Wagner will get his chance in the final, he is top class, so i expect him to give that suspect england back line plenty to think about. England will though be a huge threat from set plays as there is plenty of height and power at corners and free kicks, as we have seen right through this tourney.

A 1-0 win over Italy took the Germans to this final and as always they will be well disciplined and very hard working.

England have plenty of skill, ofcourse they do, the squad is packed with players who are doing the business in the premiership. But they lack the discipline to hold the ball and be patient. Gemany are masters at taking advantage of these kind of flaws, we know even at this level they love the tactical battle. I also think England have a real problem in the goalkeeper position too because none of them have looked that comfortable in Sweden and it will be interesting to see who gets the nod between Loach and Lewis.

Its a huge match and a chance to become heroes but i dont see it as being a bore. I expect an end to end affair with both teams hitting the net. Just as they did in the groups when drawing 1-1. But this is great value on this one going all the way to a shoot out and if it does we all know there will be only 1 winner as england always fail when it comes to taking penalties at big tournaments.

germany to win on penalties at 12.00