European Championship qualification
German U21 with goal festival: Bayern stars stand out
Updated 11/14/2025 – 7:59 p.mReading time: 2 minutes
The German U21 national team was able to convince across the board against Malta. Two Bayern players in particular had a strong day.
The German U21 national team celebrated a clear victory in the European Championship qualification. In front of 7,729 spectators in Fürth, coach Antonio Di Salvo’s team clearly won 6-0 (2-0). The DFB team could have scored a few more goals and created numerous other chances. Tom Bischof and Lennart Karl from FC Bayern Munich were particularly accurate. Debutant Karl (37th, 67th minute) scored a brace, Bischof (9th, 63rd, 65th) even scored a hat-trick. Hoffenheim’s Muhammed Damar (86th) put the sixth goal on the scoreboard in the final phase.
With the win, Germany remains in the race for qualification, but with nine points in the table they are still three points behind group leaders Greece, against whom they lost their first direct duel. The Germans continue against Georgia on Tuesday (6 p.m. in the live ticker on t-online). The nine group winners and the best runner-up will qualify for the 2027 finals in Albania and Serbia. The eight other runners-up in the group will contest the playoffs.
“Lennart should play carefree and show what he shows at Bayern,” Di Salvo demanded of the debutant before kick-off. And Karl obeyed: The teenager spun on the right, scored a lot of shots and made a double entry into the history books: 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. Even without Said El Mala (1. FC Köln) and Assan Ouédraogo (RB Leipzig), who were promoted to the senior national team, 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.
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.