The Germany U21s avoided a setback in their second EURO group stage game. Stefan Kuntz’s men fought back from 1-0 down against the Netherlands to remain top of Group A. A draw against Romania on Tuesday night will now be enough to progress to the knockout stages.
After an uneventful first half, Leipzig’s Justin Kluivert capitalised on a mistake by goalkeeper Finn Dahmen in the 48th minute. Some late substitutions from Stefan Kuntz turned things in Germany’s favour in the closing stages. Lukas Nmecha was able to find the all-important equaliser in the 85th.
Kuntz had made two changes to the starting XI against Hungary on Wednesday. David Raum and Jonathan Burkardt were replaced by the Köln duo Ismail Jakobs and Salih Özcan.
Chances few and far between
Despite a hectic start to the game with tough tackling from both sides, there was a lack of goal-mouth action. Both teams were unsurprisingly wary of one another and opted for a risk-free approach in the first half.
Patience was the name of the game for both sets of players. The first and only major chance of the half fell to the Netherlands in the 36th minute, when a cross from Cody Gakpo found Dani de Wit at the back post. De Wit’s header had Dahmen beaten, but it deflected out off the inside of the post for Germany to clear.
Hard luck for Dahmen, Nmecha on target again
The boys in Orange were the slightly better team after the restart as well, and took the lead after just three minutes of play. On his 23rd birthday, Finn Dahmen failed to make contact with his clearance after receiving a throw-in from teammate Josha Vagnoman, allowing Kluivert to effectively walk the ball over the line.
The DFB youngsters were unfazed by the setback and began to play with more drive towards the opposition goal, albeit without creating any clear-cut chances. Germany started to dominate possession, while Dahmen redeemed himself for the mistake with a couple of solid saves to keep the score at just 1-0.
In the 77th minute, Kuntz decided to take action: Raum and Klimowicz were brought on and soon followed by Burkardt, who immediately took matters into his own hands with a sensational run from out wide and a perfect ball into the middle for Nmecha, who obliged with his second of the tournament.
The Germany U21s avoided a setback in their second EURO group stage game. Stefan Kuntz’s men fought back from 1-0 down against the Netherlands to remain top of Group A. A draw against Romania on Tuesday night will now be enough to progress to the knockout stages.
After an uneventful first half, Leipzig’s Justin Kluivert capitalised on a mistake by goalkeeper Finn Dahmen in the 48th minute. Some late substitutions from Stefan Kuntz turned things in Germany’s favour in the closing stages. Lukas Nmecha was able to find the all-important equaliser in the 85th.
Kuntz had made two changes to the starting XI against Hungary on Wednesday. David Raum and Jonathan Burkardt were replaced by the Köln duo Ismail Jakobs and Salih Özcan.
Chances few and far between
Despite a hectic start to the game with tough tackling from both sides, there was a lack of goal-mouth action. Both teams were unsurprisingly wary of one another and opted for a risk-free approach in the first half.
Patience was the name of the game for both sets of players. The first and only major chance of the half fell to the Netherlands in the 36th minute, when a cross from Cody Gakpo found Dani de Wit at the back post. De Wit’s header had Dahmen beaten, but it deflected out off the inside of the post for Germany to clear.
Hard luck for Dahmen, Nmecha on target again
The boys in Orange were the slightly better team after the restart as well, and took the lead after just three minutes of play. On his 23rd birthday, Finn Dahmen failed to make contact with his clearance after receiving a throw-in from teammate Josha Vagnoman, allowing Kluivert to effectively walk the ball over the line.
The DFB youngsters were unfazed by the setback and began to play with more drive towards the opposition goal, albeit without creating any clear-cut chances. Germany started to dominate possession, while Dahmen redeemed himself for the mistake with a couple of solid saves to keep the score at just 1-0.
In the 77th minute, Kuntz decided to take action: Raum and Klimowicz were brought on and soon followed by Burkardt, who immediately took matters into his own hands with a sensational run from out wide and a perfect ball into the middle for Nmecha, who obliged with his second of the tournament.
