Youssoufa Moukoko single-handedly leads the U21s to victory in Bulgaria with a hat-trick – and is therefore applying to Julian Nagelsmann for higher tasks.
It’s easy for the U21: Eleven goals in nine games – this goal rate even makes the otherwise reserved Youssoufa Moukoko rave: “It’s really good for me, I’m in the right place here,” said the Borussia Dortmund attacker after his Three-pack in the 3:2 (1:1) in Bulgaria at “ProSieben Maxx”. But couldn’t this right place also be Julian Nagelsmann’s storm center?
“Youssoufa played a huge part in the victory. Strikers are measured by the goals he scored,” said U21 coach Antonio Di Salvo, who has “no worries” about having to hand Moukoko over to the new national coach: “It’s ours here Job to prepare the players. If Julian is of the opinion to take one or two players, then I’m happy for each and every one of them.”
The second European Championship qualifying game, with which the DFB team moved to the top of Group D, was actually intended to boost the shattered self-confidence of Moukoko’s BVB colleague Karim Adeyemi. But he crept off the pitch with his head hanging after a poor performance.
Moukoko is only a benchwarmer at BVB
Once again, only Moukoko was really convincing in the work victory. In Sofia he single-handedly turned around Stanislaw Schopow’s deficit (25′), hit the near corner out of nowhere (40′), slapstick through the legs of the opposing keeper (49′) and was spot on after Frankfurt’s Ansgar Knauff was put down ( 69.). Nikola Iliev (90th + 3) made the game unnecessarily exciting in stoppage time.
At BVB, Moukoko is only number three in the attack center behind DFB striker Niclas Füllkrug and Sebastian Haller – the life insurance par excellence in the U21. “I score the goals, the boys look for me, I can gain self-confidence. The coach trusts me, I repay the trust,” said the match winner.
An oasis of well-being. “I work no differently than Edin Terzic at the club. I talk to him a lot, we just have a good bond,” said Di Salvo: “Of course the competitive situation in Dortmund is different again. I told Youssoufa that he would like his time here must and can use.”
Moukoko had already put the DFB team on the road to victory with a brace at the start against Kosovo (3-0). The game in Israel, originally planned for next Tuesday, was postponed after the Hamas terrorist attacks; the next European Championship qualifying games are scheduled for November in Paderborn and Essen.
With Moukoko? What many forget: The native of Cameroon will only be 19 years old and could theoretically still play in the U21 European Championships in 2027. But if he continues to score like this – and also gets more playing time at BVB – Nagelsmann should not be able to avoid Moukoko.