Joker Merlin Röhl shot the German U21 national team against Italy into the European Championship semi-final. It was a crime thriller with an extension – despite a long outnumbered for the DFB team.
Luca Koleosho put the Italians in the lead on Sunday evening (June 22nd, 2025) in the 58th minute. Nick Woltemade managed to equalize in the 68th minute before Weiper scored 2-1 three minutes before the end. In the end, the Italians were only too ninth after yellow-red cards for Wilfried Gnonto (80th) and Mattia Zanotti (90th), but in the 6th minute of stoppage time, Guiseppe Ambrosini scored with a direct free kick to 2-2. In the extension, the DFB team then found no remedies against deeply standing Italians before Röhl still scored the redeeming goal in the 117th minute.
“A very special moment”
Röhl then cheered on Sat1: “The gate was a special moment, just nice to experience something like that with the team. Especially because we have been so difficult for a long time.”
Rocco Reitz added: “I am absolutely at the stop, now only ice cream and pizza help. Of course it was bitter to collect the balance with two men, but in the end it is only important that we have progressed.”
Coach Antonio di Salvo said openly: “We made it really unnecessarily difficult, in the end it can be happy that we still did the 3-2. But everyone has given everything, now it is important to regenerate well.”
DI Salvo rotates on all eleven positions
The list of the two coaches had already been expected with great excitement – both Italy and Germany had extremely rotated in their final group game.
While Italy’s coach Carmine Nunziata changed his eleven to the 1-1 against Spain to nine positions, Antonio di Salvo made it even more consistent: Despite the top performance against England (2: 1), he sent the entire eleven back onto the bench and completely reset the formation that had achieved the first two victories in the group.
Woltemade with the first chance
The game started lively and did not take a long start -up time if there was a lack of something big. Nick Woltemade had the first dangerous scene after twelve minutes, but concluded from half -left to imprecise. As a result, the Italians increased the pressure and brought a lot of hardness into the game.
After half an hour, the lead for the Squadra Azzurra was in the air when DFB keeper Noah Atebolu could only clap a shot from Matteo Prati – in the trap, Wilfried Gnonto only hit the outside of the empty goal.
Prati and fog fail tightly
Five minutes later, both teams had a big chance within a few seconds. Initially, Prati hesitated at the penalty point until Namdi Collins was able to throw himself into the shooting track. In the direct opposition, Paul Nebel appeared freely in front of Sebastiano Desplanch, but was unable to overcome Italy.
In the second round, the game was initially significantly more one -sided. The German team lost all sovereignty, was pushed into the defensive and found no relief. Especially from the wing positions, nothing came, but in this phase, Di Salvo kept it to put new impulses through fresh forces.
Germany too passive – Italy takes the lead
Also a big chance of Gnonto, which Atebolu defused against the striker in the offside, did not serve as a warning shot (56th) – team and coach remained completely passive. The punishment followed after just under an hour: the overwhelmed Gruda lost the ball again in midfield, the counterfore Luca Koleosho Castle with a low shot.
Only then did Di Salvo react – and the effect was noticeable very quickly. With Nelson Weiper, Ansgar Knauff and Merlin Röhl, three of the best came from the England game into the team, immediately the momentum waved onto the German side.
Woltemade with the equalization
After a corner by Rocco Reitz, Röhl narrowly failed on the planch, but the standards of the Gladbacher remained a danger stove: Woltemade headed the next corner of Reitz from Reitz.
Afterwards, Germany stayed on the trigger, and the next neck strike got the Italians themselves: Gnonto grown into the legs of the Freiburg in a liberation from Max Rosenfelder and rightly saw the yellow-red card.
Weiper meets Röhl’s flank
After that, the Italians withdrew even further, but that was not a good idea: the DFB juniors let the ball run well, and the patience paid off: Joker Röhl flanked on Woltemade, whose header extension landed at Joker Weiper, who with a brilliant technique, the ball volley enclosed into the left corner.
After a further dismissal (Zanotti had complained to referee Manfredas Lukjančukas), everything spoke for Germany. But after a completely unnecessary foul from Eric Martel on Prati, Ambrosino with two men less in the field with a free kick.
Reitz fails on Desplanche
In the extension, the Germans then tried it with permanent ball, but let the ball circulate far too slowly. Reitz still had the goal on his foot with a Schlenzer from 20 meters, but the planch reacted outstandingly. After that, Deutschtland struggled, hardly came to a chance – but when the penalty shootout threatened against nine Italians, Röhl still made a decision.