From Monday focus on the sport
But by Monday at the latest, the youth selection wants to focus on the sportingly important game against Israel. With a two-point lead over their direct pursuer, the U21s could take a big step towards the European Championship with a win.
“It’s a very important game for us, it’s about important points in the table. We’re focused and ready,” promised Hertha’s Marton Dardai, who made his U21 debut against Latvia.
Tight group constellation for German U21
Poland, who are Germany’s last opponents after Hungary in June, is third in the group, four points behind. Only the first and the best runners-up in the group buy the EM ticket directly, the other runners-up have to go to the playoffs.
“The group constellation is very tight and we know that we have to approach every game with great concentration”said Di Salvo: “We want to win this game too.” In the event of bankruptcy, there could be a risk of missing an EM for the first time since 2011.
Goal: defend the European title
The German selection wants to defend the European title of their predecessors in Georgia and Romania in the summer of 2023. The clear 4-0 win against Latvia gave self-confidence and security after a week with almost a dozen absent sick or injured players, some late nominations and a lot of improvisation.
“We tried to hide that”, said Di Salvo to the personnel situation. DFB President Bernd Neuendorf saw one live in the stadium “terrific victory” and praised the many failures: “I saw a team.”
The team was also proud of the good response to the staff shortage. “That is to be rated very highly because it was also unusual. We had a lot of new faces with us.”, judged Maximilian Bauer from Fürth. The newly formed U21s now want to build on that against Israel. “If we win, we can breathe a sigh of relief” Thielmann was confident.
Source: dpa