Germany have won the 2017 Under-21 European Championship title courtesy of a 1-0 win over Spain at the Jozef Pilsudski Stadium in Krakow this evening.
Mitchell Weiser scored the only goal of the game as England's semi-final conquerors claimed their second crown at Under-21 level, and their first since beating England in the 2009 final.
Spain, meanwhile, miss the chance to equal Italy's tally of five titles having been outplayed for long spells of the match by a team that many regarded as underdogs before kickoff.
Germany went into the match having lost three of their previous seven outings - the same number of defeats Spain had suffered in their previous 60 - but it was Stefan Kuntz's side who were the first to threaten the opposition goal when the recalled Weiser forced Kepa Arrizabalaga to tip his mis-hit cross over the bar.
Kepa may not have been reaching Germany's next effort just a minute later, but this time the woodwork came to his rescue when Max Meyer flicked a header against the outside of the post.
Having been penned back for the opening five minutes, Germany were suddenly on top and captain Maximilian Arnold almost gave them the lead in spectacular fashion with a swerving long-range strike which flew narrowly past the post.
Spain's first real sight of goal arrived after 13 minutes when Hector Bellerin found himself inside the area but could only flick his header narrowly past the far post.
It was Germany who were in control, though, and Bellerin's former Arsenal teammate Serge Gnabry's inventive effort almost snuck in at the front post after he had taken a low cross into his path immediately.
Gnabry came close again midway through the half when he was left unmarked at the back post, but he saw his initial effort blocked before failing to get adequate contact on the follow-up as Kepa gratefully fell on his tame rebound.
Spain were struggling to get into their usual rhythm and it was no surprise to see them fall behind with five minutes remaining of the first half when Weiser flicked his head at Jeremy Toljan's cross to loop a header over Kepa and into the far corner.
Spain needed an improvement in the second half, and despite the early stages being littered with a string of yellow cards it was Albert Celades's side who started on top.
Indeed, they almost levelled things up shortly before the hour mark when Saul Niguez - the hat-trick hero in the semi-final and top scorer for the tournament - took the ball down on his chest and curled one towards the corner from 25 yards, only for Julian Pollersbeck to get across and push it wide.
That seemed to spark Germany back into action, though, and Arnold scuffed one shot well wide before Gnabry latched on to a clever through-ball inside the area only to be denied by Kepa when one on one.
A second goal may have been enough to kill Spain off, and the resulting corner almost provided it too as Marc-Oliver Kempf's header dropped narrowly past the post.
Gnabry then squandered another presentable chance from inside the box, but it was Spain who began applying the pressure as the match entered the final 20 minutes and Dani Ceballos almost levelled things up in style with a 25-yard effort that fizzed inches wide of the target.
Deulofeu, playing his last match at Under-21 level on the day his return to Barcelona was confirmed, also threatened in the closing stages when he cut inside and tried his luck, but this time the shot was deflected off target.
The late pressure continued to arrive from Spain, but further goalscoring opportunities were hard to come by and Germany held out for a famous victory to follow in the footsteps of the likes of Manuel Neuer, Mesut Ozil and Mats Hummels, who won the title in 2009.
The result brings Spain's six-match winning streak and 13-game unbeaten run to an end, while it is also only the second time Germany have beaten Spain in a competitive international at Under-21 level.
Barney Corkhill
Spain U21s
