James Ward-Prowse completed a dramatic comeback for England Under-21s in their friendly against Germany at the Riverside Stadium this evening.

The visitors looked strong early on, and took the lead 15 minutes in when birthday boy Philipp Hofmann found the top corner after creating space on the edge of the box.

England responded well, with Will Hughes almost playing in Danny Ings, before Jesse Lingard's effort was parried out for a corner by Barcelona goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen.

Lingard went one better to level matters for England, scoring his first goal for the Young Lions by slotting past Ter Stegen after Carl Jenkinson picked him out.

Liverpool's Emre Can came close to restoring Germany's lead, but his free kick was denied by Jonathan Bond shortly before the break.

Five minutes into the second half, Hofmann's second gave Germany the advantage after tapping in from Julian Korb's cross.

England looked to hit back quickly, but Burnley's Ings squandered a chance after Jenkinson teed him up.

The hosts continued to press, and got their reward with 10 minutes to go when Nathan Redmond's strike took a deflection off Robin Knoche and past Ter Stegen.

Two minutes later, England took the lead through captain Ward-Prowse after Jenkinson found the Southampton midfielder, who drilled a shot into the bottom corner.

England almost put the game beyond doubt in the final minutes, but Ter Stegen denied Alex Pritchard.

Germany failed to create any late chances as Gareth Southgate's side ran out victors in an enthralling encounter in the North-East.