Under pressure against Northern Ireland
©IMAGO
The frustration over the first defeat in the European Championship qualification in four years ran deep among the U21 national team – and was a dire warning on the way to the European Championship finals. “We can’t afford any more mistakes or slip-ups, that’s clear,” warned coach Antonio Di Salvo after the 2-3 (0-2) draw against Greece. For the first time since November 2021, when it suffered a painful 4-0 defeat against Poland, the German Football Association’s most important youth selection lost a qualifying game again.
“We were afraid to play forward,” complained Bayern professional Tom Bischof, who was allowed to wear the captain’s armband as a debutant. After two out of ten match days, the German team is only in third place with three points in the table behind Greece (6 points) and their next opponent Northern Ireland (4). Together with the senior national team, which won 4-0 against Luxembourg, the U21s are now traveling to the island, where the pressure is great.
In third place, vice-European champion Germany would have no chance of qualifying for the finals in Serbia and Albania in the summer of 2027. The nine group winners and the best runner-up are sure to be there. The eight remaining group runners-up will compete in playoffs to determine the final four participants in the final round. “I don’t look at the table,” said Mainz player Nelson Weiper before the game on Tuesday (6:30 p.m./ProSieben Maxx) in Belfast. “We just want to win every game and it doesn’t give a damn whether it’s a final or not.”
The German team got off to a disastrous start against Greece and was 2-0 down after a quarter of an hour. When the second goal was conceded, just 13 seconds after the restart, Paderborn’s goalkeeper Dennis Seimen blacked out when he mishandled the ball. The 19-year-old revealed that he would “struggle with it” at first. “But then we’ll move on. Then I’ll give everything on the pitch again so that I can do better on Tuesday.”
U21 goalscorer Rothe demands a reaction
The goals from Hoffenheim’s Muhammed Damar (54th minute) and Tom Rothe from Union Berlin (59th) helped make it 2-2, but were not enough because of the late goal. “We as Germany, as the U21, definitely have to win against such opponents, we have to play dominantly, and we have to change that and definitely show a reaction,” emphasized Rothe.
The German team was also clearly the favorite in terms of squad value, the current U21 is worth almost 154 million euros, while the Greek team is valued at around 49 million euros. The difference is even greater than their next opponent, Northern Ireland, which is only valued at around 8 million euros.
Di Salvo doesn’t want to talk about a final before the game. “After two games it’s definitely too early. We’ve now lost the game and we know we can’t afford these mistakes anymore,” said the coach. “We have everything in our own hands and have a good team. Now we have to learn from our mistakes.” Captain Bischof took the same line: “Maybe it’s good that we have a little bit of pressure so that we can be there right from the start because we know we have to win.”