Instead of a football miracle, there was pure disillusionment for the German U21 national team at the end of the European Championship preliminary round. In the last group game, the DFB youth team lost 2-0 (0-2) to England on Wednesday (June 28th, 2023) and were eliminated as the defending champions with just one point and finished last in Group C.
“As far as this squad is concerned, the quality is currently not enough, especially compared to a nation like England,” said U21 coach Antonio di Salvo in an interview with Sportschau: “We’ll need a few days now, that to process.” The German team had big plans after the 1-1 draw against Israel and the 1-2 draw against the Czech Republic. Di Salvo had tried to set an example with offensive changes.
But almost none of that came across on the pitch in Batumi, Georgia. After just 44 seconds, England, who had changed eight positions after qualifying for the knockout stages, had their first chance. Three minutes later the ball wriggled in the German goal.
A long pass was enough. Cameron Archer escaped between the much slower German central defenders Yann-Aurel Bisseck and Marton Dardai via the left and coolly pushed in in front of the goal to make it 1-0 (4th minute). An early blow to the neck for an already unsettled German team. While the German selection subsequently had to work hard for every attempt at a degree and then often failed miserably (8th) or shot each other (19th), almost every attack by the English “B-Team” became extremely dangerous.
Too easy goals against
After all, England’s second goal was symptomatic of so many scenes from Germany U21s at the tournament. The DFB youth just had a chance. And on the following throw, Liverpool’s jewel Harvey Elliott was able to dribble through the middle line against the remaining German defense almost unhindered to the German goal and make it 2-0 (21st).
In the period that followed, the German team tried hard to get back into the game. But bad luck, inability and an English goalkeeper who was in a good mood, not only after a Schade header, did not allow the goal to be scored. Also in the last action before the break, a shot from Kevin Schade from the right found his master in goalkeeper James Trafford (45 + 1).
Germany home, England versus Portugal
In the second half, the superior England played the game down in a controlled manner, so that there was nothing more to gain for the tried but ultimately helpless DFB team. “You could tell the team was a little unsure,” admitted coach di Salvo. In the second half, substitute Finn Becker only fired the first shot at the English goal in the 90th minute.
The German U21 selection is now going home, and qualifying for the 2024 Olympic Games is also a thing of the past. Group winners England take on Portugal in the quarter-finals on Sunday. Israel secured second place in the group with a surprising 1:0 in the final game against the Czech Republic. Omri Gandelman scored the decisive goal in the 82nd minute for the Israelis, who now meet co-hosts Georgia in an underdog quarter-finals on Saturday.