From mascot to matchwinner - the making of a new England hero
When a nine-year-old Jonathan Rowe was walking out alongside England and Brazil at a packed Wembley he was living every football-mad child's dream.An AFC Wembley youth player, he was picked to be mascot for the visit of the five-time world champions in 2013. He later watched on as Frank Lampard's second-half goal gave the Three Lions a memorable 2-1 victory.Skip forward 12 and a half years, it was now Rowe's turn to be England's matchwinner.The Marseille forward came off the bench to give his country a dramatic 3-2 extra-time win over Germany in the final of the European Under-21 Championship.A senior call-up may yet be some way off, but this was a night the 22-year-old will never forget.With England boss Thomas Tuchel watching on from the stands, Rowe told Channel 4: "I came into the game with [the mindset of] anything I could do to help the team."I'm so happy I managed to do that in front of some important people tonight."But who exactly is England's new U21 hero - and how did he end up in France at Marseille?
Caring for his mum aged 11 & impressing for Norwich
According to his coach at AFC Wembley, Rowe "didn't know how good he was" - but everyone else did."That's what we liked about him, he was good but he also had that humble side," Gary Graham told Sky Sports."A lot of boys in our team were good, but didn't have that humble side and that's why they weren't able to step up to the next level."Rowe joined Norwich City's academy in 2014 - but the move wasn't entirely straightforward. He spent three hours a day commuting from London to East Anglia in between caring for his ill mother and helping raise his sister. He was still only 11 at this point.Then came the injuries during his developmental years, having to tackle Osgood-Schlatter disease - a common cause of knee pain - before eventually making his first-team debut for the Canaries in 2021.He spent the next two seasons in and out of the Norwich side before establishing himself in their 2023-24 run to the Championship play-off semi-finals, scoring 13 times.But, with other clubs circling, Rowe decided it was time to move on.After having several previous bids rejected, Marseille managed to sign the forward on a season-long loan deal with an obligation to buy - the fee a reported £17m.Norwich were unhappy with the way the transfer played out, with Canaries boss Johannes Hoff Thorup saying Rowe had declined to play in their 2-0 opening-day defeat at Oxford United amid interest from the Ligue 1 club.
The move to Marseille - but it's been 'difficult'
Rowe is one of three players in England's U21 Euros squad to play their club football abroad, along with Toulouse defender Charlie Cresswell and Genoa's Brooke Norton Cuffy. Jobe Bellingham, now at Dortmund, was also named in the squad initially.There are plenty of other recent success stories of young English players moving away from the UK, too, such as Angel Gomes at Lille and Conor Gallagher at Atletico Madrid.But the move away for Rowe hasn't been straightforward.He started just six league games last season, with 22 more appearances coming from the bench."It's been difficult for me personally, the whole season has been difficult," said Rowe. "The change coming from Norwich, where I was a key player in the team and then coming here was a big challenge with the expectation to perform."I have embraced it, and it's been difficult. I have been left out of the starting XI a lot of times, and it has obviously affected me a bit, I think everyone could see that. I carried on going, though, and that's the main thing."Even though I was down some days, I had to look at the bigger picture, which is that collectively as a team we have a goal, and I have got to do as much as I can."
'He's made a real impact, his enthusiasm is infectious'
Speaking after the win over Germany, Rowe said again that this season had been "up and down" and acknowledged he wasn't even picked for the last England U21 camp.But he also said that "I always back myself" - and his international coach Lee Carsley will have played a part in that."The point we make to all of the players, regardless of how much they play for their clubs, we watch them all of the time," Carsley told BBC Sport's Nick Mashiter. "I keep in touch with the players, mainly when they're not playing, to keep them motivated and keep them going."To move abroad takes a different kind of character. Jonathan's done so well when he has had the opportunity at Marseille - he fully deserves to be in our squad."He probably thought at some point that he was out of selection, but he more than deserves to be part of it."He's made a real impact and his enthusiasm around the hotel and training has been infectious."And, on Saturday, he made the biggest impact of all - a winning goal for his country in a tournament final.
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