Relieved by the successful comeback in the top game, the German U-21 national players formed a circle and raised their arms. After the 3-1 (0-1) win in the European Championship qualifiers against biggest rivals Poland, coach Antonio Di Salvo gathered his team together again on the halfway line and said a few words to his beaming charges.
They didn’t allow themselves to be disturbed by a temporary deficit. In front of 8,559 spectators in Essen, Eric Martel (56th minute), substitute Nick Woltemade (79th) and Merlin Röhl (82nd) scored the goals for the youth team on Tuesday.
Ariel Mosor initially gave the guests the lead (24th). Germany moved past Poland, who had the same number of points, in the table. Both teams have twelve points. However, leaders Germany have played one game less and are well on their way to the 2025 European Championship in Slovakia.
First good chance to score
“The game was very, very important for us, especially in front of our own crowd. “We are of course very happy that we turned it around after a not so good first half,” said Woltemade on ProSiebenMaxx. “The energy was already there before the game, so we were able to stand in a circle and enjoy it,” said di Salvo. He had wanted this from his team before the game.
Both teams met on equal terms from the start and fought close duels. In the drizzle, technical inaccuracies such as problems with receiving the ball initially prevented the game from flowing properly.
It took almost a quarter of an hour before Ansgar Knauff had his first good chance to score. The ball fell at the Frankfurter’s feet in a promising position in the penalty area, but Knauff didn’t hit the ball correctly and shot straight into the arms of the Polish goalkeeper Kacper Tobiasz.
Well-structured defense
The guests did better. After a corner, defender Mosor, who had moved up, got a shot quite easily in the six-yard box and gave Poland the lead.
The 1-0 gave coach Adam Majewski’s team security. From a well-positioned defense, they repeatedly attacked quickly and thus posed problems for Germany. With a little more efficiency in finishing, Poland could have secured a preliminary decision. Although Germany was by no means hopelessly outnumbered, there was very little to suggest an equalizer.
That changed after the break. Above all, the agile Youssoufa Moukoko repeatedly stimulated the game energetically with tempo runs and played a decisive role in the equalizer. The Dortmund player took a free kick, which he shot into the wall himself.
Roland Zorn, Paderborn Published/Updated: Recommendations: 1 Roland Zorn, Paderborn Published/Updated: Recommendations: 3 Tobias Rabe, Berlin Published/Updated: , Recommendations: 7
From there the ball bounced to Martel and the U-21 captain scored to make it 1-1. After Poland initially had further chances, the DFB team ultimately impressed with their greater reserves of strength. Woltemade and Röhl caused great celebration among the German fans.
