Mo Marley labelled football a “cruel game” after her England Women’s Under-19 side suffered a late defeat in their Euro finals opener.
Germany defender Rebecca Knaak headed an 87th-minute winner to hand Maren Meinert’s side the victory.
England 1-2 Germany
UEFA Women's U19s Championship finals
Group B
Wednesday 15 July
Haberfeld Stadium, Rishon Le-zion, Israel
Nina Ehegotz had put the four-time winners ahead midway through the first half, only for England left-back Gabrielle George to level on the half-hour mark.
Marley said: “The players are disappointed, in the manner of defeat as much as anything else.
“I thought we probably shaded it in the first half but it always felt that we might concede some ground with our mistakes – as happened with the first goal.
“In the second half Germany's experience showed. We were always in it, but the longer the game went on it felt like Germany were really pushing.
“I told my players it's a cruel game, but we have a history of losing the first game but qualifying [for the semi-final].”
The Young Lionesses, who qualified for the finals after Leah Williamson’s dramatic re-taken penalty, will take on Spain on Sunday and Norway on Tuesday 21 July.
Marley led the U19s to Euro glory in 2009 with a side that included Toni Duggan, Jordan Nobbs, Lucy Bronze and Jade Moore – four players who were a part of Mark Sampson’s bronze-medal winning squad at the recent World Cup in Canada.
