Football disgrace at U-21 European Championship
Devastating verdict on the German offspring
Status: 09:40 a.m. | Reading time: 5 minutes
Disillusioned, frustrated, at a loss: Germany’s Yann Bisseck (left) and Jessic Ngankam after the bloodless performance against England
Source: dpa/Sebastian Kahnert
With Germany’s U21s, the disappointment after the early end of the European Championship is great. The players speak of a lack of heart and courage, coach Antonio Di Salvo asks the question of quality. The boss of the national teams draws an unequivocal conclusion.
Germany’s U21 national coach Antonio Di Salvo has drawn a sobering conclusion from his first tournament as head coach after the early failure of the European Championship. “Of course it hurts. It just wasn’t possible anymore,” said the 44-year-old after the 0: 2 (0: 2) against England on Wednesday in Batumi. “Of course I’m incredibly disappointed.” After three finals in a row, his team was eliminated from the preliminary round of the European Championship for the first time since 2013 at the tournament in Georgia and Romania.
The players also expressed harsh self-criticism after the miserable tournament with only one point from three games. “I don’t know if we had enough courage. If you look at the game, it definitely wasn’t brave, it was heartless. There has to be more,” said midfielder Angelo Stiller. Teammate Yannik Keitel admitted: “We definitely have to look at ourselves and get more points. Whether that is the sporty quality, I do not know. It was just missing at one end or the other.”
After an unfortunate 1-1 draw against Israel and a bitter 2-1 draw against the Czech Republic, the German selection was clearly the inferior team in the decisive group match against England. “There was a difference in quality today, you could see that brutally,” admitted Tom Krauss after the pathetic performance. Di Salvo also admitted: “If you don’t score goals and you concede goals, it’s ultimately about quality that was missing.”
“A lot of work in order not to miss the connection to the top of the world”
Joti Chatzialexiou, sporting director of the national teams at the DFB, spoke of a “super meltdown” after the early failure. “It’s very, very bitter. This tournament wasn’t really under a lucky star,” he said after the bloodless performance. Against the English, who even rested some of their top players, it was shown once again that other nations are ahead of Germany, said Chatzialexiou: “We have to sit down as soon as possible and also work on certain issues in youth work. There’s still a lot of work ahead of us so that we definitely don’t miss out on the connection to the world’s best.”
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The fact that around six months after the pitiful end of the senior national team at the World Cup in Qatar, the U21s also experienced a sporting fiasco fueled the discussions and concerns about German football. Chatzialexiou’s record of the under-21s’ performance at the tournament in Georgia and Romania was devastating. Against the English, the team “surrendered a bit. It’s sad, but in the end it’s well deserved that we’re eliminated as bottom of the table.”
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Di Salvo’s team played two decent halves in the three games. “That’s just not enough if you want to become European champions and qualify for the Olympic Games,” said Chatzialexiou. “As a footballing nation, you have to act differently, decide the games, and want to win the games with a certain punch,” added the 47-year-old, complaining about the quality on offense. “Ultimately, we are where we are and that is the reality,” said Chatzialexiou.
He immediately assured Di Salvo after his first tournament as the main person responsible for the U21s: “There won’t be a coaching discussion because we expressed our trust in Toni before the tournament, because we see how we work.” Di Salvos The contract had already been extended to 2025 before the EM.
“We’re fed up,” yelled the fans
Even before the final whistle, German fans in the stadium were singing: “We’re fed up.” Midfielder Keitel even briefly took on the angry supporters after the final whistle. Cameron Archer (4th minute) and Harvey Elliott (21st) scored the goals for England against the young Germans – who competed as the defending champions – in front of 9,587 spectators. After 90 minutes without a chance plus stoppage time, Tom Krauss said: “It just hurts. There was a difference in quality today, you could see that brutally.”
Germany’s Keitel (left) in dialogue with the angry supporters of the DFB team
Source: dpa/Sebastian Kahnert
The DFB-Elf embarrassed themselves with just one point from three games in the feasible preliminary round group. Germany’s U21s have never been so bad in a European Championship participation. Since the introduction of the group stage, the team has clinched at least one win when qualifying.
The German team would have needed a little football miracle to get through anyway. But there was no need to look at the parallel game with hopes of Israel winning against the Czech Republic early on. Sports director Rudi Völler had to watch from the stands as the overwhelmed German defense was time and again outplayed by the quick English side. England’s B-Elf with a total of eight new players whirled at will. Captain Yann Aurel Bisseck prevented even worse twice in dire need (26th/33rd)
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Up front, 18-year-old Nelson Weiper from FSV Mainz 05, who was in the starting XI for the first time, struggled, but the Di Salvo team was not really compelling. The 44-year-old spread his arms helplessly on the sidelines. In the storm center, the coach was again missing striker Youssoufa Moukoko. The 18-year-old had to sit out again due to muscular problems after his disappointing debut at the European Championship and the racist insults directed at him.
The best news for the German team was the result. After the change of sides, England had chances for more goals, even if the youngsters of the European runners-up shifted down a gear. In Germany, on the other hand, little or nothing continued to come together. The game rippled towards the end. The hope of the miracle had long since given way to disillusionment in the German team.
