After six months in office, coach Antonio Di Salvo is close to reaching his first milestone with the German U21 national team.
With a bit of luck, his selection won in Petach Tikwa in the top game of the European Championship qualifier against Israel and only needs one point from two games for the direct European Championship ticket.
Without captain Jonathan Burkardt, who was injured at short notice, the youngsters of the German Football Association found it difficult to win 1-0 (0-0), but ultimately achieved the important victory in the Top duel of the group.
With a five-point lead over Israel and six over third-placed Poland, the DFB juniors from the games against Hungary and Poland in June are missing a point to secure first place and thus the direct ticket.
Even as runners-up in the group, the team would still have a chance of participating in the 2023 tournament in Georgia and Romania via the playoffs, where the U21s would like to defend the title of their predecessors.
Burkardt, who is in good form, falls out shortly before kick-off
The German team was committed in the top duel against Israel, but in the game going forward they lacked pace and ideas for a long time. In the middle of the Israelis’ best phase, Katterbach scored the hard-fought victory.
Di Salvo had to put up with a setback even before the kick-off: Mainz’s Burkardt, who had been so strong recently, was out for a short time because he injured himself while warming up. Jan Thielmann from Cologne took his place in the starting eleven.
Despite the setback, the guests started concentrated and initially had more ball possession and, above all, the better chances to score from standard situations. But Israel always remained dangerous with their fast switching game.
The hard-fought duel hardly offered any clear chances to score in the first half. The German team found it difficult against consistently defending and strong tackle Israelis. There was a lack of ideas and movement in the game, which is why Di Salvo’s team could hardly create any danger in front of the opposing goal, except for set pieces.
Katterbach redeems the DFB juniors
After the break, the hosts became bolder and had the better chances. The DFB team was lucky not to fall behind.
The DFB juniors then used their first really good attack of the game to take the lead: Katterbach scored from close range on the left after a great run by Thielmann to make it 1-0.
Israel tried to find an answer, but with a strong fighting performance and a bit of luck, the DFB-Elf made it 1-0 over time.