With his debut goal in the German U21 jersey, Said El Mala (11th minute) opened the door for the DFB youngsters in Greece towards qualification for the European Championship. Anton Kade later provided salvation (73′). With the 2-0 (1-0) win on Tuesday (March 31, 2026) in Athens, the German selection replaced Greece as the front runner and has direct qualification for the European Championship in sight.
El Mala’s beautiful turning shot from the left into the far corner following a corner was the only one early and long Highlight of the German guests. The shooting star of 1. FC Köln (finally) scored his first goal in his seventh U21 appearance. Anton Kade made it 2-0 after a Bischof free kick deep in the second half.
“I’m super proud of the team“said U21 coach Antonio Di Salvo on “ProSieben MAXX”, “She showed a top performance and deserved to win.“
“Only” three more wins until the European Championships
Goalscorer El Mala, who dedicated his goal to his grandmother, who died on Saturday, was also relieved at “ProSieben MAXX”: “Everything was at stake here today. We still had a bill to settle. Are we first now?” Yes. Because with the victory, the German U21 team has overtaken Greece, who had the same number of points in Group F with 18 points, three game days before the end of the European Championship qualification, after the 2:3 in the first leg, in first place based on the direct comparison.
This means that the German youth “only” have to win the last games against the outsiders Latvia (September 26th, 2026), Malta (September 30th) and Georgia (October 6th) in order to get the direct ticket for the European Championships in the summer of 2027 in Albania and Serbia. The second place in the table has to go to the playoffs.
Strong start for the German U21s – with El Mala’s goal
U21 coach Di Salvo’s team started confidently after the 3-0 win against Northern Ireland. The German youngsters put the Greeks under pressure early on, won the ball and moved forward quickly. The reward was El Mala’s beautiful opening goal – albeit from a corner. But instead of continuing, the DFB team took a step back.
The hosts had more of the game up to the break and also had some promising approaches towards the goal – but without having a great chance. Even after the break, Greece was initially the more active team on the offensive. The German U21 defended well.
The Di-Salvo selection only switched forward gear again after almost 60 minutes. Tom Bischof (59th) tested Greece’s goalkeeper Nikolaos Botis with a powerful 25-meter shot. Shortly afterwards, El Mala (61′) scored his second goal after an attack from the left. But Botis reacted strongly again and wiped the shot from ten meters out of the goal.
Backhaus saves – Kade scores
So it remained a close affair. A goal for Greece – and first place would have moved away again. After 71 minutes it was almost time. The hosts had too much space on the right. Adriano Bregu, who had just come on as a substitute, pushed the ball towards the goal and goalkeeper Nio Backhaus cleared it.
Almost in return, Augsburg’s Kade was there and headed a long, deflected Bishop free kick from the left at the second post into the far corner to make it 2-0. Greece now had to become more active. Backhaus made another great save against a direct shot from Dimitris Rallis (83′) – and so the German U21s were able to celebrate the victory, the win in the direct comparison and first place in the European Championship qualification.
