Shooting star Lennart Karl and captain Tom Bischof led the German U21s to an easy mandatory win against Malta.
The only 17-year-old debutant Karl scored twice in the 6-0 (2-0) on Friday evening (November 14th, 2025) in Fürth, his Munich club colleague Bischof even scored three times. Thanks to the safe success in Fürth, DFB coach Antonio Di Salvo’s team is staying on course for the 2027 European Championship.
The goals from Karl (37th/67th) and Bischof (9th/63rd/65th) all came from left-footed shots, only Muhammed Damar from TSG Hoffenheim (86th) scored with his right. In the table, the DFB team is still further behind Greece (12) with nine points from four games.
Only the group winner will secure a direct ticket to the European Championships in Serbia and Albania, where tickets for the 2028 Olympics will also be awarded.
Bishop provides leadership
Karl spun on the right, scored a lot of shots and made his mark in the history books twice: Karl is now the second-youngest goalscorer and the third-youngest player in German U21 history – both lists are headed by Youssoufa Moukoko.
But another Munich player made the start: Bischof scored with a well-placed shot and gave Di Salvo the early lead. The DFB team was the dominant team. This was also due to Bayern’s young star Karl, who had the most contact with the ball before the break.
Next opponent: Georgia
Di Salvo had made eight changes to his team compared to the narrow win in Northern Ireland (2-1), and he also switched to a 4-2-3-1. Defensively, this brought the necessary stability – but the guests, who have now suffered 17 defeats in a row in the European Championship qualification, hardly posed any threat to score.
After the break, Karl, Bischof and Damar increased the score. The German U21s now have to make the long journey to Georgia, where things are likely to be much more difficult on Tuesday.