‘A shandy or two' – No wild celebrations for England's U21 heroes as boss Carsley reveals they have 3.30am flight home
JONATHAN ROWE was England's hero as they sealed back-to-back Under-21s Euros glory.
But the Marseille supersub and his team-mates will NOT be partying into the night — as they had to go straight to the AIRPORT.
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Rowe headed home Tyler Morton's cross to seal an extra-time triumph over Germany in front of senior Three Lions chief Thomas Tuchel.
Boss Lee Carsley sent on Rowe at the end of normal time — and the former Norwich forward stooped to nod a 92nd-minute winner to emulate England's 2023 success.
But as fans watching on at home toasted another thrilling success — the players will be limited to "a shandy or two".
That's after Carsley revealed the squad were booked onto a flight back to Birmingham just a few hours after lifting the trophy.
Asked how his side planned to celebrate, Carsley said: "We go back to the hotel.
"We have a couple of hours and then fly back into Birmingham at 3.30.
"It's a quick turnaround. The players will be on holiday tomorrow. Their time is very important to them. But it's important that they have a shandy or two tonight."
He added: "I'm really proud of the players. The commitment they've shown for the last 28 days, all the instruction we've tried to put into them so quickly, they've taken it on board and they've got so much belief.
"I'm so happy for them. To be European champions for the second time is a great achievement and the challenge now is to do it again in two years.
England 3 Germany 2- Young Lions retain Euro U21s crown in THRILLER as supersub Jonathan Rowe wins it in extra-time
"Any setback we've had, the players have just got together. I said at the start of the tournament, the longer we can stay in, the better we play.
"I didn't think we played great tonight. I thought we probably sat a little bit too deep and didn't have as much control as I would've wanted, but I probably won't remember that in a couple of days."
Meanwhile, hero of the hour Rowe, who was subbed on at full-time of normal time, praised the team for rallying together.
The striker said: "I was not starting but I knew that at some point all of us on the bench would have to come on and make a difference and help the team to push us over the line.
"I'm so happy we managed to do that in front of some important people. The job's finally finished and we can all celebrate."
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Sign up to Football Daily Kick off your evenings with the Guardian's take on the world of football after newsletter promotion There was to be no such reprieve when Nebel – who qualifies to play for the Republic of Ireland through his grandmother – saw his curling shot deflect off Jay Stansfield and loop over Beadle's despairing dive to equalise. Carsley immediately sacrificed Stansfield for Brooke Norton-Cuffy, with Elliott brought into a more central role. Suddenly the game was on a knife edge as Norton-Cuffy could only direct his shot straight at Noah Atubolu after being set up by Hutchinson. There were hearts in mouths on the England bench when a deflected Germany effort struck the crossbar in stoppages but they made it to extra time. Carsley rolled the dice by taking off the exhausted McAtee and Elliott, and it immediately paid dividends as Rowe's deft header from Morton's cross restored England's lead. 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