GERMANY beat England 4-0 to win the European Under-21 Championship on Monday night in front of a near sellout crowd at Malmo Stadium in Malmo, Sweden.

It was England’s first appearance in the final since 1984 and brought to an end a run of having not lost open play in 21 matches and gave German coach Horst Hrubesch echoes of his major success as a player with the then West Germany in the senior 1980 European final over Belgium.

Gonzalo Castro opened the scoring in the 23rd minute and Mesut Ozil made it 2-0 three minutes into the second half with a long-range free-kick that embarrassed stand-in goalkeeper Scott Loach, who appeared wrong-footed and could only palm the ball into his own net.

Sandro Wagner scored two late goals within a span of five minutes late in the final to seal the victory.

Ozil set up his first, nicking the ball in midfield before marauding forward and releasing Wagner, who shot between Loach’s legs.

Wagner then added the fourth, in the 84th minute, curling the ball neatly into the far corner following a counterattack.

Germany goalkeeper Manuel Neuer did not have to make a save throughout the one-sided final.

England coach Stuart Pearce, who revealed he has signed a new two-year deal to lead the team until the next Under-21 championship, said he would take his time to analyze the team’s failings.

“It is down to me sit back and let the dust settle on this tournament and work out how to improve at this level,” said Pearce, who was suffering another disappointment against Germany having as a player lost to them in the 1990 World Cup semifinal — he missed one of the penalties in the shootout — and then again in the Euro 1996 semifinals.

(SD-Agencies)