Germany u21 4 - 0 England u21:
Maybe after actually winning a semi-final, it was probably too much to expect a defeat of Germany as well. There will be no joyous return for Stuart Pearce�s side, no trophy.

Maybe after actually winning a semi-final, it was probably too much to expect a defeat of Germany as well.

There will be no joyous return for Stuart Pearce's side, no trophy. Instead, memories of an impressive tournament England were well capable of winning will be stained by a hammering right at the end, masterminded by the dazzling skills of Mesut Ozil.

In truth, England's chances receded dramatically when Frazier Campbell, Joe Hart and Gabriel Agbonlahor were ruled out after semi-final disciplinary woe. The loss of the latter two in particular was a grievous blow given they represented half of the players available who have appeared at senior level.

With Theo Walcott driving through the middle, Pearce's hope was pace would prove to be Germany's undoing. Having told Arsene Wenger in no uncertain manner that he intended fulfilling his commitments in Sweden despite the Frenchman's reservations, Walcott kept working. The problem was England did not get near enough to him. It was almost the Steven Gerrard-Frank Lampard conundrum in reverse as Mark Noble, Lee Cattermole and stuck to their holding roles with no thought to how England would score.

It is a measure of the class exuded by Ozil, a 20-year-old Werder Bremen youngster destined for big things judging by his performances over the past fortnight, that despite the trio of extra defenders, he still managed to find space.

The pass inside Martin Crainie for Gonzalo Castro's opener was sublime, a perfect ball played with a clear head, under intense pressure. Exactly the type of thing Germany have been doing for years, further back indeed than 1980 when coach Horst Hrubesch was scoring twice in a European Championship final win over Belgium.

Fabio Capello's connection did not quite work out, though, meaning the England coach had to watch on TV rather than in person after arriving back from the Confederations Cup in South Africa. It meant the Italian missed England's disastrous start to the second period - Hart's replacement, Watford's Scott Loach, totally misread the flight of a long-range Ozil free-kick.

The mistake wrecked Pearce's plan and rendered most of his interval words meaningless. On Friday, hosts Sweden recovered from an even worse situation to force extra-time and nearly beat Pearce's side before missing out on spot kicks. You never got the feeling Germany would buckle in the same manner.