England men lost a dramatic semi-final to Germany in the EuroHockey Championships at the Olympic Park.
Mark Gleghorne put England in front but Martin Zwicker equalised before Lukas Windfeder gave the Germans a 2-1 advantage.
Ashley Jackson made it 2-2 with a late penalty stroke to take the tie to a shoot-out, but Sam Ward missed the decisive shot as Germany prevailed 3-2.
England will now play Ireland in the bronze medal match on Saturday, while Germany progress to the final with the Netherlands.
"It doesn't get much closer than that," said England midfielder Nick Catlin. "It's probably the best semi-final I've been involved in since I came into the team.
"We certainly turned up and played our part but we went from the ecstasy of making 2-2 to the agony of losing on shootout.
"We're there or thereabouts. That's the closest we've ever pushed them in a major tournament."
England's women are in semi-final action against Spain on Friday.
