England 2-0 Germany: Young Lions dump defending champions out of Under-21 Euros with Harvey Elliott on target

England remain perfect in their European Under-21 Championship campaign after beating Germany 2-0 in Batumi, Georgia, a result that eliminated the defending champions from the tournament.

First-half goals by Aston Villa striker Cameron Archer and Liverpool’s Harvey Elliott proved decisive, as Lee Carsley’s side made it three wins from three games without conceding a goal.

England can now look forward to a quarter-final meeting with Portugal on Sunday.

That would have given Germany confidence ahead of kick-off as they looked to win to remain in the competition. However, they fell to another loss as they finished bottom of the Group C table with just one point – a miserable return just two years after capturing the title in Slovenia. Israel progress to the quarters in their place.

It took England just four minutes to take the lead when Archer – who spent the second half of last season on loan at Middlesbrough – latched onto a through ball from his Aston Villa team-mate Jacob Ramsey and finished with aplomb.

The Young Lions made it 2-0 in the 21st minute following a rapid counter-attack. Elliott grabbed his first goal for the U21s in style as he charged from the halfway line, keeping his composure to beat the goalkeeper Noah Atubolu.

With Gareth Southgate watching on, England could have made it worse for Germany as they continued to dominate and create chances at will.

But two goals were enough for England to secure the win and maintain their perfect record at the tournament.