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Germany U21 4-0 England U21
Mark Noble has admitted England's defeat in the European Under-21 Championships Final was the most devastating of his career.
Stuart Pearce's side kicked off in Malmo with hopes of becoming the first England team to win the competition for 25 years but capitulated after falling behind in the first half.
The West Ham midfielder said: “Seeing them collect the trophy was one of the worst things I've had to do. I didn't really watch most of it, I couldn't. It was too much. I wanted it to be us up there and not them.”
Noble was in the team that lost to Holland in the semi-finals on a penalty shoot-out two years ago.
He said: “This is harder to take than 2007. As much as we lost that match, it was on a high because we were unlucky and lost on penalties.
“We're gutted, terribly gutted. We thought we could go out and win and obviously that didn't happen. I don't know what went wrong. We started well, we started sharply. Obviously, it was a setback with their goal and that was terrible for us.
“I'm just gutted for ourselves and for England. I thought we'd be bringing home the trophy.”
Without their suspended trio of goalkeeper Joe Hart plus forwards Gabriel Agbonlahor and Fraizer Campbell there were fears that England could struggle. That proved to be the case as Watford keeper Scott Loach crumbled under the pressure, while Arsenal striker Theo Walcott was left isolated up front.
Pearce refused to criticise Loach but the 21-year-old will know he could have done better with Germany's first three goals.
He was too slow off his line when Mesut Ozil played a through ball for Gonzalo Castro to chip in the opener after 23 minutes.
Even worse was to follow at the start of the second half when Loach misread the swerve on Ozil's 35-yard free-kick and tamely palmed the ball into his own net.
England fought hard to recover and went close when Lee Cattermole's shot clipped the bar. He also had a header cleared off the line, while Adam Johnson fluffed a great chance from six yards out.
But the game was settled when Sandro Wagner's low shot went straight through Loach's legs and the German added a fine fourth six minutes from time to make the scoreline even more emphatic.
Winger James Milner admitted the players only had themselves to blame. He said: “The obvious thing is we didn't perform. We had lots of possession but didn't break them down. The way we qualified for the tournament and then played here showed what a good team we are. But it's all about big games and we didn't perform. Losing's bad enough but way we lost was not good enough.
“I think we're the best team in this competition but you've got to prove it and we didn't.”
Pearce hopes the experience of losing the final will motivate the players to come out on top next time.
Several of the squad had played their last game for the Under-21s, including Noble and Milner, but Pearce said: “Half of this group can go on again so we have to learn from this and improve for next time. For those players that can play again in two years hopefully that hurt will stay with them like it did with me when I pulled on an England shirt.”
Pearce will have the opportunity to go one better himself in 2011 after signing a new two-year contract.
The coach said: “I enjoy where I work, my employees and the players I work with. Why would you walk away? Losing chews me up but it spurs me on to be a better coach and manager. It's as simple as that.”
Reader views (7)
This is the first time I've watched the u21's. I was amazed at the ineptitude of a team the majority of whom have premiership experience. Not one shot on target in 90 minutes. Player's caught in possession; passes overhit or mis-directed and some individuals appearing out of their depth. For example Adam Johnson seemed to be mimicking his team-mate Downing; meaning one dimensional;soulless,expressionless;lacking in ideas and about as thrustful as a kitten. Ditto Theo Walcott. Apart from Muamba (who was substituted! why?) I couldn't identify any who had potential to progress to the upper level
- Patrick Churchill, GOFFS OAK, Herts, 30/06/2009 21:04
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Jock - you don't really understand football do you?
- Clive, London, 30/06/2009 14:38
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I don´t think it helps when time and again the media, the pundits and the players hype the team. Before the game the attitude was ¨We are better than them¨ at senior level we´ve seen the same curse. When it comes to the game we are clearly corrected in our presumptuous opinions.
Much of this seems to come down to the constant echo of the EPL is the best league in the world. Last night we watched a German team waltz through the English defence and score some great goals. The midfield and attacking prowess of the Germans was class.
The Best Team Won!
- Dan Rey, Madrid Spain, 30/06/2009 14:22
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Simon, you mean other than where they say they only have themselves to blame?
- Joe, Romford, 30/06/2009 13:09
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Chris H - The fact is that the scoreline was a good indication of the game. The Germans put the ball in the net 4 times, or else it wouldn't have been 4-0, would it?
- Jock, London, 30/06/2009 11:45
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Football generally suffers from too many players with an inflated opinion of their skills and worth. It is when they meet serious opposition that they begin to recognise their shortcomings. The trouble is they will probably look for other people to blame rather than asking themselves hard questions about their commitment and motivation.
- Simon, london, 30/06/2009 11:30
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The 4-0 scoreline was not a fair indication of the game. England played some very good football at times. If it wasn't for the fluke/mistake for the second German goal England wouldn't have had to push so many players up and left themselves open at the back. The Germans were, however, the better team on the day and deserved to win.
- Chris H, London, 30/06/2009 11:16
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