The Germany U21s fell to a 1-0 defeat against the France U21s in a friendly in Magdeburg on Friday. Amine Gouiri scored the winning goal for the visitors in the 52nd minute.
Head coach Antonio Di Salvo made eight changes to the squad in what was their first match since successfully securing qualification to the U21 EUROs earlier this year, but said the squad hadn’t been affected by the many changes. “We have a great squad with lots of talent, and are more than able to compete against the top teams,” he said during the pre-match press conference.
Strong starts from both sides
Di Salvo’s side started bravely in front of 5,427 fans at the MDCC-Arena, while the first shot of the game came from the visitors as goalkeeper Noah Atubolu parried it to the side (8’). France saw more of the ball in the opening minutes, but were unable to find the breakthrough early on.
Germany eventually saw their patient style of play rewarded with more possession and several promising set pieces (16’, 18’, 22’), but didn’t cause the France defence any major issues. Youssoufa Moukoko and Tom Krauß combined for a well-worked series of passes, but lacked the final touch (25’). The next chance then fell to Krauß, but his shot from range went high and wide (29’).
Gouiri nets the opener after the break
As half-time approached, Germany were able to record a final push towards goal. A pinpoint pass from Krauß sailed through the box on its way to Luca Netz, before France were able to clear it (40’). An entertaining opening half came to a close with both teams still deadlocked.
Neither side made any changes at the break, but it was France who would break the stalemate in the 52nd minute. The ball landed at Gouiri’s feet, who stroked it into the far corner to open the scoring. Minutes later, Moukoko came close, but his shot was easily saved by the keeper (54’).
Two quick chances from Krauß (70’) and Felix Nmecha (74’) were also too harmless, while the closing minutes saw Lazar Samardzic’s shot take a deflection (87’). The win saw France extend their unbeaten run to 12 games, as they recorded a narrow 1-0 win over the Germany U21s.
