England U20s slip to a narrow first defeat of the season against Germany in Zwickau

England U20s slipped to a narrow 2-1 defeat at the hands of Germany on Tuesday afternoon.

It’s a first loss of the campaign for Keith Downing’s side, who were unfortunate not to take a draw from the game after finding themselves two goals down at the break.

But Harvey Barnes’ fine goal with five minutes remaining gave the Young Lions hope after a brace from Werder Bremen striker Johannes Eggestein had put the hosts in control.

The first goal came in the tenth minute, when a long, diagonal ball from the back picked out David Raum on the left and when he found Eggestein on the edge of the area, he spun quiclkly and drove a low shot past Aaron Ramsdale.

And Germany doubled their advantage on the half-hour mark, with Eggestein scoring his second of the night by smashing a left-footer past Ramsdale at the near post after Suat Serdar’s clever pass into the box had sent him clear.

The scoreline was harsh on England though, and Downing’s men set about the second half in a positive manner and came close to reducing the arrears when Stephy Mavididi saw his effort hit the bar.

England did score the goal of the night though, as debutant Callum O’Hare brought the ball in from the left before feeding Marcus Edwards. His back-heel found Barnes and the on-loan Barnsley man did the rest by finishing past Moritz Nicolas to set up a late finale.

Unfortunately, the hosts hung on despite a flurry of late pressure from England who now wait until March before their next games with Poland and Portugal.

England: 1 Aaron Ramsdale (AFC Bournemouth); 2 Ezri Konsa (Charlton Athletic), 5 Easah Suliman (Aston Villa), 6 Reece Oxford (Borussia Monchengladbach, loan from West Ham), 3 Jay DaSilva (Charlton Athletic, loan from Chelsea); 4 Adetayo Edun (Fulham), 8 Josh DaSilva (Arsenal); 7 Connor Mahoney (AFC Bournemouth), 10 Marcus Edwards (Tottenham Hotspur), 11 Chris Willock (Benfica); 9 Stephy Mavididi (Preston North End, loan from Arsenal)

Substitutes: 15 Harvey Barnes (Barnsley, loan from Leicester City) for Edun 61, 16 Isaac Buckley-Ricketts (FC Twente, loan from Manchester City) for Willock 61, 17 Ike Ugbo (Barnsley, loan from Chelsea) for Mavididi 73, 12 Callum Brittain (MK Dons) for Konsa 73, 14 Lloyd Kelly (Bristol City) for Oxford 81, 18 Callum O’Hare (Aston Villa) for Mahoney 81

Substitutes not used: 13 Will Mannion (Hull City), 

Head coach: Keith Downing

Goals: Harvey Barnes 86

Caution: Connor Mahoney 38