England v Germany match preview
Three-time competition winners England and two-time champions Germany know the victors in their 13th meeting at U21 Euro will top Group B in Slovakia.
England are guaranteed to qualify in second behind Germany with a draw, while they will still go through with a defeat if Slovenia do not beat Czechia in their simultaneous fixture and overturn a five-goal inferiority to the Young Lions at the start of play.
“I think we’ll need to freshen the team up,” England coach Lee Carsley told Uefa after his side’s 0-0 draw with Slovenia on Sunday.
“It’s important to take in consideration their age and the amount they’ve played, so we’ll make sure we utilise the squad.”
Manchester City forward James McAtee was self-critical after finding himself among England’s players to pass up presentable chances on their way to a fourth point of the finals.
“There’ll be some fresh legs out there against Germany,” he said. “Hopefully we can get the three points and top the group, because that’s our aim.”
Germany beat Slovenia 3-0 in their opener and held off a second-half comeback to beat Czechia 4-2 on Sunday, eliminating their opponents.
Nick Woltemade’s expert header gave the towering forward a fourth goal of the tournament following the Stuttgart sensation’s hat-trick against Slovenia.
“We have a high level of individual quality,” said the 23-year-old, who made his senior debut as a starter against Portugal in the Nations League semi-finals on June 4.
“We have a combination of strength and quality and we can win our duels and score as a result of that. I’m really proud of the team.”
Nicolo Tresoldi, who scored Germany’s first goal against Czechia, called Woltemade “the perfect second striker for me”.
“I really enjoy playing with him and we just understand each other,” the Club Brugge prospect explained. “I’m really happy to be here, really happy to play with Nick, but also with everyone else.
“We are a really, really good team and we just want to keep going.”
Nick Woltemade is top of the scoring charts after two games ⚽️⚽️⚽️⚽️#U21TopScorer | @AlipayPlus | #U21EURO pic.twitter.com/vlpfqqhbK2
— UEFA Men’s Youth (@UEFAMensYouth) June 16, 2025
England v Germany team news
Sunderland’s Dennis Cirkin, Crystal Palace’s Adam Wharton and Tottenham Hotspur’s Dane Scarlett have not joined England at the tournament because of medical issues.
Ipswich Town midfielder Omari Hutchinson started in England’s opening 3-1 win over Czechia and could be restored, while Carsley could be tempted to start Jack Hinshelwood after the Brighton & Hove Albion player almost scored as a late substitute against Slovenia.
Germany’s Merlin Rohl has recovered from a foot injury the midfielder sustained in training, having been an unused substitute in their first two matches.
Goalkeeper Jonas Urbig and midfielder Tom Bischof are at the Club World Cup 2025 with Bayern Munich, as are forwards Maximilian Beier and Karim Adeyemi with Borussia Dortmund.
Head coach Antonio Di Salvo says he has no new injuries but could rotate his side, describing the demands of playing every three days as “extremely strenuous”.
“It’s great and important that Merlin is back,” said Di Salvo, hinting that Woltemade could be rested. “I could see from [Rohl’s] grin that everything was fine. We’ll take it day by day to see if we can bring him in.
“Merlin is very versatile. He can play in many positions. I want to see who’s available first, then we’ll see where he’s needed.”
England v Germany expected line-ups
England starting XI: Beadle; Livramento, Quansah, Cresswell, Gray; Morton, Hinshelwood, Elliott; Hutchinson, McAtee, Stansfield
Germany starting XI: Atubolu; Collins, Rosenfelder, Siebert, Ullrich; Martel, Reitz; Wanner, Thielmann, Jander; Weiper
How to watch England v Germany: Live stream, TV channel
Kick-off on Wednesday is at 20:00 BST, with live coverage on Channel 4 starting at 19:30.
Fans can use the Channel 4 app to watch online and stream the action via a vast variety of devices on the go.
