The German U21 footballers got off to a good start to the season with a completely new team after their disappointment at the European Championships.
Germany’s U21 footballers enjoyed long cheers from the fans, coach Antonio Di Salvo clapped with relief with his coaching team. A good two months after the botched European Championship, the youth team has made a promising start to the new season. This was also the opinion of Eric Martel, who was called up as captain for the first time, after the 2:0 (0:0) in the test match against Ukraine on Friday: “I have to say that we did really well,” said the Cologne native to “ran.de” after the match. As for the captain’s armband, he added: “It makes me proud, of course.”
The main premise was “that we were defensively compact”, explained Martel. It took them a while to get into the game, but they created good chances in the first half. “Then in the second half we rewarded ourselves. A good test for us.”
Striker Maximilian Beier (52nd minute) from TSG Hoffenheim and Fürth’s Tim Lemperle (88th) scored the goals for the newly formed selection in front of 6503 spectators in Saarbrücken. It was the first win for the U21s in an official match in 2023 and the hoped-for little mood-lifter for German football.
“Of course I’m relieved,” Di Salvo admitted. “The team showed what we want to see.” Especially the defensive part was right. “It’s important to keep a clean sheet,” the coach noted, “but we still have to improve our forward play.” Overall, the “fighting spirit” and “greed” were right. “We couldn’t demand that many processes fit now.” On Tuesday, his team will play its first competitive match of the new season in the European Championship qualifiers in Kosovo.
Compared to the disappointing European Championship, which ended for Germany with only one point from three games, a completely new team was on the pitch. Seven professionals from the starting eleven made their U21 debut, only three players from the European Championship squad were still part of the team. The ongoing phase of finding one’s feet was noticeable for the hosts at first, and the game did not really flow in the sunshine at almost 30 degrees Celsius.
In the early stages, a lot of the action was individual, with the U21-experienced Youssoufa Moukoko and Ansgar Knauff in particular having good offensive scenes. It was Knauff from Frankfurt who missed the best chance for the 1:0 with his head (43rd minute).
Di Salvo made eight changes at the break, and shortly afterwards the next two newcomers came into the game. Nevertheless, the DFB youngsters continued to play courageously and were rewarded. Werder Bremen attacker Nick Woltemade strongly claimed the ball and had an eye for Beier, who kept his cool. “Strong pass, great finish,” praised Di Salvo. Lemperle then removed the last doubts about victory shortly before the end.