European Championship qualification
The German U21 national team beat their biggest rivals for group victory and, thanks to strong comeback qualities, took an important step towards qualifying for the European Championship. Coach Antonio Di Salvo’s team didn’t let a temporary deficit upset them in their 3-1 (0-1) win against Poland.
Germany moved past Poland, who had the same number of points, in the table. Both teams have twelve points. However, leaders Germany played one game less.
In front of 8,559 spectators in Essen, Eric Martel (56th minute), substitute Nick Woltemade (79th) and Merlin Röhl (82nd) scored the goals for the youth selection on Tuesday. Ariel Mosor initially gave the guests the lead (24th).
Both teams met on equal terms from the start and fought close duels. In the drizzle, technical inaccuracies such as problems with receiving the ball initially prevented the game from flowing properly. It took almost a quarter of an hour before Ansgar Knauff had his first good chance to score. The ball fell at the Frankfurter’s feet in a promising position in the penalty area, but Knauff didn’t hit the ball correctly and shot straight into the arms of the Polish goalkeeper Kacper Tobiasz.
The guests did better. After a corner, defender Mosor, who had moved up, got a shot quite easily in the six-yard box and gave Poland the lead.
The 1-0 gave coach Adam Majewski’s team security. From a well-positioned defense, they repeatedly attacked quickly and thus posed problems for Germany. With a little more efficiency in finishing, Poland could have secured a preliminary decision. The guests did well at least up to the penalty area. Although Germany was by no means hopelessly outnumbered, there was very little to suggest an equalizer.
That changed after the break. Above all, the agile Youssoufa Moukoko repeatedly stimulated the game energetically with tempo runs and played a decisive role in the equalizer. The Dortmund player took a free kick, which he shot into the wall himself. From there the ball bounced to Martel and the U21 captain scored to make it 1-1. After Poland initially had further chances, the DFB team ultimately impressed with their greater reserves of strength. Woltemade and Röhl caused great celebration among the German fans.
The nine group winners and the three best runners-up will qualify for the 2025 finals in Slovakia. The six remaining group runners-up will contest playoffs to determine the last three European Championship places.
With Martel, Moukoko & Atubolu: The DFB U21 squad for November
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