For  a moment, the image seemed wrong. Celebrating in the corner were a group of giddy England players, while slumped in the penalty area were clutch of crestfallen Germans. Shouldn’t it be the other way around? Important matches between these two old foes tend to end one way and rarely is the outcome happy for England. Under-21 head coach Gareth Southgate, after all, knows that better than most. But this was no apparition: two goals in two minutes from Nathan Redmond and James Ward-Prowse provided further evidence this squad Southgate has impressively moulded is an emerging force. When Euro 2015 starts 80 days from now, do not doubt they possess what it takes to win it. This 3-2 win at a rain sodden Riverside Stadium, achieved after they had trailed twice, was stamped with the qualities of a team that can win a major tournament: quality, technique and spirit coming to the fore. Never was it more evident than when Ward-Prowse scored the decisive goal. James Ward-Prowse wheels away in celebration after scoring the winner in England Under 21's 3-2 defeat of Germany . The Southampton midfielder completed an unlikely comeback that saw two late goals scored in the space of three minutes . Nathan Redmond leaps for joy after bringing England level at 2-2 with a deflected shot in the second half . England were heading towards defeat before Redmond's strike on 79minutes brought them back into the game . Jesse Lindgard brought England level for the first time with a composed finish from Carl Jenkinson's cross in the first half . Germany striker Philipp Hofmann scored a brace but could not prevent the Young Lions from a memorable victory . Hofmann slides in in front of Everton defender John Stones to restore Germany's lead at the start of the second half . ENGLAND (4-2-3-1): Bond 6.5: Jenkinson 7.5, Stones 7, Gibson 6.5 (Keane 77mins), Garbutt 6.5: Ward-Prowse 7.5, Forster-Caskey 7: Lingard 7.5, Hughes 6.5 (Pritchard 65mins 6), Redmond 8: Ings 7 . Subs not used: Bettinelli, Moore, Woodrow. Scorers: Lingard 34, Redmond 79, Ward-Prowse 82. GERMANY (4-3-3): Ter Stegen 7: Korb 6.5, Ginter 7, Knoche 6.5, Gunter 6.5: Can 7, Leitner 6 (Kimmich 46mins 6), Younes 6: Bittencourt 6 (Gnabry 46mins 7), Hofmann 7.5, Meyer 6.5 (Schulz 68mins) Subs not used: Orban, Geis, Zimmer, Klaus, Horn, Karius. Booked: Leitner. Scorers: Hofmann 15, 50. Man of the match: Carl Jenkinson. Referee: Davide Massa (Italy) 7. Expectations of a bold show in the Czech Republic can now build but Southgate, who has only lost one of the 16 games for which he has been in charge, was rather more circumspect. Yes, he was pleased but he was also quick to sound a note of caution. ‘How do I keep a check on expectations,’ he asked. ‘That’s easy. I’ll just show people the first 25 minutes of this game. We have tremendous belief in this group of players and some elements of what they did really pleased me. Other aspects showed we can definitely improve.’ The last time Southgate had stood in the technical area of this particular stadium, it came before one of the darkest moments of his career: the events of October 20, 2009, when he was sacked by Middlesbrough, will never leave him. He returned, however, a more confident and mature manager and he has thrived in this role with the FA, getting the Under-21s playing a vibrant, attractive brand of football that will see them go to the Czech Republic with genuine ambitions of success. Germany, though, will go there with the same mind-set and there is no doubt they will be big players when the tournament starts because of the big players they have in their ranks; Marc-Andre Ter Stegen, the Barcelona keeper, Emre Can of Liverpool and Max Meyer of Schalke to name but three. They started this contest impressively, moving the ball with purpose and ambition and in the first 10 minutes England had trouble getting out of their own half. Germany retained possession with ease and there was an inevitability they would strike first. When Germany broke the deadlock, they did it in style. Matthias Ginter skipper down the left and clipped in a cross that Philipp Hofmann, celebrating his 22nd birthday, controlled with his right foot before smashing a drive beyond Jonathon Bond with his left. For a moment it seemed like Germany might go through the gears but this England team has spirit as well as ability and their speed caused problems; Lingard (twice) and Danny Ings both tested Stegen before Lingard’s industry was rewarded in the 34th minute and parity was restored. Half-time arrived and checked England’s momentum. Germany made changes and the introduction of Arsenal flyer Serge Gnabry gave them blistering pace and trickery to attack Everton left-bacl Luke Garbutt. He made an immediate impact, thrilling providing Hofmann’s second of the night. Yet England were not done and they staged a grandstand comeback, Redmond equalised in the 78th minute before Ward-Prowse won it when bursting through. The players, then, can start to dream and, perhaps in a quiet moment, Southgate will too. ‘We have not achieved anything yet,’ he said. ‘We know what our goal is and we want to get there.’ Hoffman, who plays in Germany's second division, strikes to open the scoring for Germany after 15minutes . The Germany striker wheels away in celebration after handing the visitors the lead in this international friendly . Germany players celebrate after opening the scoring, but left the Riverside Stadium in shock after England's comeback victory . Liverpool and Germany midfielder/defender Emre Can (right) slides in for a tackle on England's Jake Forster-Caskey . England Under 21 manager Gareth Southgate looks on at the stadium where he spent his career as a player and manager . Lingard watches his composed finish find the net after meeting a right wing pass from Carl Jenkinson . The Manchester United forward races off to celebrate his first goal for England's Under 21s . England team-mates race to congratulate Lingard for bringing them level while fans rise from their seats . Burnley forward Danny Ings embraces Lingard as the two teams head in level at half time . Liverpool target Ings tries to take the ball under control as England start to get back into the game . Hoffman takes advantage of an England lapse of concentration after the break to net his second goal . Derby County forward Will Hughes strolls forward with the ball from midfield as England withstand pressure . England's perseverance paid off when Redmond brought the sides level for a second time with a deflected shot . The Norwich City forward can not contain his pleasure as he celebrates his equaliser in front of England fans . Ward-Prowse netted England's winner within three minutes of drawing level in the closing stages . The England Under 21 captain shows his joy as the Young Lions chalk up a memorable victory against the old enemy .
England Under 21s defeated Germany Under 21s 3-2 in their international friendly at the Riverside Stadium . The visitors opened the scoring with a rifled long distance shot from Philipp Hofmann on 15minutes . Three Lions equalised through Jesse Lingard with a composed finish from Carl Jenkinson's cross . Germany second division striker Hofmann restored the lead with a close range finish after the interval . Nathan Redmond restored parity with deflected shot before James Ward-Prowse scored a late winner .