England held Germany to a 5-5 draw in their U19 European championship second group game at the Arcul de Triumf Stadium on Tuesday.
Head coach Will Antwi made several changes to the side that started the opening game against Norway, which contributed to England’s poor start.
Germany took the lead inside seven minutes when Said El Mala picked out Barcelona’s Noah Darvic, who slotted the ball into the net.
El Mala doubled Germany’s lead in the 31st minute, leaving England with slim hopes of qualifying for the semi-final.
England pulled one back through Fulham’s Josh King, who struck Jayden Meghoma’s cross home.
Germany extended their lead as Zach Abbott deflected Kjell Watjen’s effort past goalkeeper Tom Setford.
Leopold Wurm scored from a corner to give Germany a three-goal cushion just before half-time.
Germany started the second half strongly as El Mala made it 5-1, leaving England with a mountain to climb.
The 2022 champions reduced the deficit in the 52nd minute when Manchester United’s forward Ethan Wheatley scored after goalkeeper Konstantin Heide had spilt Abbott’s header.
Tottenham Hotspur’s Reiss Russell-Denny struck with precision three minutes later to boost England’s hopes of completing a comeback.
Abbott made amends for his early error on the hour mark, heading home from a corner before Crystal Palace’s Jesse Derry completed the comeback in the 63rd minute.
Setford made a save in injury time to deny Germany, while Caleb Kporha nearly scored for England. The result was the highest-scoring fixture in the tournament’s history.
England have two points from two games and are second in the standings. They face the Netherlands in their final group fixture on Friday.
