Germany lift U-21 European Championships thanks to Mitchell Weiser header

Mitchell Weiser headed a stunning winner as Germany were crowned Under-21 European champions courtesy of a 1-0 victory over heavy favourites Spain in Krakow.

The 23-year-old Hertha Berlin starlet looped a majestic flick-header into the far corner from Jeremy Toljan's cross on 40 minutes to secure only Die Mannschaft's second ever title at this level, and their first since 2009.

Stefan Kuntz's side, who knocked out England on penalties in the semi final, were without their leading scorer Davie Selke through injury, but carved out the better opportunities and took the game to the much-fancied Spaniards for long spells.

La Rojita were a shadow of the team that had conquered all before them in their previous four games in the tournament with Dani Ceballos' second-half piledriver the closest they came as they rarely looked like equalling Italy's record haul of five titles.

Germany survived a late Spain surge to lift the trophy, a feat all the more impressive given that a number of the Under-21's first-choice starlets were called up for the senior's Confederations Cup campaign.

Part one of the double? Germany's youngsters have been the clear stars of the summer. The Under-21s have shown a real togetherness and spirit despite not being at full strength. They prevailed as underdogs by saving their best for the latter part of a tournament, typical of their football DNA. Over to Die Mannschaft's other youngsters now to see if they can clinch double glory by inspiring the 'senior' side to the Confederations Cup title on Sunday.

Niklas Stark (Germany). Was passed fit to start and was a rock at the back, helping to organise the defence and put his body on the line with a series of fine blocks.

GERMANY U21: Pollersbeck 7, Toljan 8, Stark 8, Kempf 8, Gerhardt 8, Haberer 7, Weiser 7, Meyer 7, Arnold 7, Gnabry 8, Philipp 6. Subs: Amiri n/a, Kohr n/a, Oztunali n/a.

SPAIN U21: Kepa 7, Bellerín 7, Mere 6, Vallejo 6, Jonny 6, Llorente 6, Ceballos 7, Deulofeu 6, Saul 6, Asensio 6, Ramírez 5. Subs: Gaya 6, Inaki 5, Mayoral n/a.

7' - OFF THE POST. Max Meyer adjusts himself brilliantly to flick a header from just inside the area against the woodwork with Kepa left scrambling.

40'- GOAL! GermanyU21 1-0 Spain U21. Mitchell Weiser gives Germany the lead with a looping, flick header from Toljan's right-wing cross. A quite stunning effort.

59' - SPAIN U21 CHANCE. Saul chests a ball down and lets fly with a cracking effort from 25 yards that Pollersbeck is forced to push past his right-hand post.

61' - GERMANY U21 CHANCE. Gnabry surges in from the left but sees his low shot blocked by the boot of Kepa. From the resulting corner Marc-Oliver Kempf's header flies just over.

73' - SPAIN U21 CHANCE. Ceballos strides forward, holding off challenges before hammering a superb 25-yard strike a whisker wide of Pollersbeck's right-hand post.

Germany have won the European U21 Championship for the first time since 2009.

Saúl is the third Spanish player to be UEFA U21 Championship Golden Boot after Morata (2013) and Adrián (2011).