The German U17 footballers beat last year’s winners France in the final of the European Championship in Budapest on Friday evening (02.06.23). For a German U17 it is the first European title in 14 years.
The DFB-Elf won 5:4 on penalties after no goals were scored in regular time. Schalke’s Assan Ouédraogo converted the decisive penalty to victory.
“It was about time we won that title again”said coach Christian Wück, “We are very happy. It was an incredibly close match.” Looking at the tournament as a whole, his team was the deserved winner.
Balanced first round
Both teams showed a courageous start, whereby the first big chance was not long in coming. Just a few seconds after kick-off, Maxim Dal almost deflected a low cross from the French into an own goal (1st). Later (27′) Germany’s Paris Brunner was denied a penalty after being brought down by Yvann Titi.
Shortly before the half-time whistle, Brunner was the center of attention again: After a great pass from Max Moerstedt, he missed the crossbar by a hair’s breadth (42′).
France more compelling in the second half
In the second round, it was almost only the French who had the go. After a fine combination in the German penalty area, Mathis Lambourde pushed the ball just past the box to the left (51′). Shortly thereafter, the Frenchman reappeared free in front of the goal (60′), but was straddled by Finn Jeltsch at the last moment. Later (71st) Yanis Issoufou also missed after a great solo by Saimon Bouabré.
Ouédraogo becomes a hero
Shortly before the end, Germany again: Bence Dardai put a direct free kick from a good 20 meters on the lower edge of the bar (80th). In injury time (90+4) Noah Darvich frittered away a promising counterattack.
The decision had to be made on penalties after the regular playing time of 90 minutes. In the meantime, the French even got the match point to victory. DFB goalkeeper Max Schmitt parried, however, before Ouédraogo became a hero for Germany after another French miss.
Flick praises youth work
Shortly after the final whistle, the men’s national coach Hansi Flick also spoke up. “What a thriller finale! This European Championship title is a fantastic, great success for the coaching team around Christian Wück and the team behind the team“, he was quoted on DFB.de.
“This title win is a nice confirmation of the quality of our talents and their excellent training by the clubs and the DFB” said Flick.