News (engl.)

The Germany U21s kicked off their U21 European Championship campaign with a 3-0 win against Slovenia. Nick Woltemade netted all three goals for the side in Nitra, scoring in the 19th, 42nd and 82nd minutes. The other group fixture saw England beat Czechia 3-1.

“It was a great way to start the tournament,” said head coach Antonio Di Salvo. “The first game is never easy, but we were strong right from the start. We then lost our way, took our foot off the gas a bit and committed too many silly fouls. But, we managed to score to make it 2-0 at the right time.”

“The three goals feel great. It was an important start for us. As long as we win, then I’m happy to keep scoring three goals in every game - but it’s not an easy thing to keep up,” Woltemade, Germany’s hat-trick hero, said afterwards.

Two clinical strikes from Woltemade

Di Salvo started Noah Atubolu in goal, behind a back four of Max Rosenfelder, Bright Akwo Arrey-Mbi, Pharrel Nnamdi Collins and Nathaniel Brown. Captain Eric Martel, Rocco Reitz, Brajan Gruda and Paul Nebel started in midfield, with Nicolo Tresoldi and Nick Woltemade leading the line. Germany looked to attack Slovenia early on, going close for the first time through Tresoldi in the third minute. Di Salvo’s side enjoyed the bulk of possession in the opening minutes, but lacked precision when looking to finish their chances. Tresoldi then forced goalkeeper Martin Turk into making a strong save in the 18th minute to keep the scores level.

Germany would break the deadlock less than a minute later, however, as Tresoldi flicked on a header for Woltemade, who tidily finished into the back of the net. Slovenia nearly managed to draw level shortly after, but Tio Cipot’s shot was saved by Atubolu (27’). The following minutes were dominated by Slovenia, as they forced Germany to defend deep. Svit Seslar delivered a well-struck direct free kick that Atubolu needed to parry away from danger (39’).

Rosenfelder then drove up the pitch from the halfway line, dribbling past several of his opponents before laying it off for Woltemade inside the box. The striker coolly slotted the ball into the back of the net to extend Germany’s lead to 2-0. Shortly before the break, Slovenia nearly managed to cut the deficit, as Cipot found himself unmarked at the post. Fortunately, his header missed the target (44’).

A penalty to make it 3-0

The second half got underway with Germany on the front foot once again. Slovenia were working hard to find their way back into the game, but struggled to break down Germany’s backline. Tresoldi did well to make his way into the box, but saw his attempt blocked (59’).

Di Salvo made his first changes in the 64th minute, bringing on Ansgar Knauff and Nelson Weiper for Brajan Gruda and Tresoldi. Chances were few and far between in this phase, but Germany remained in control. The head coach then made two more substitutions in the 74th minute, with Tim Oermann and Jan Thielmann coming in for Collins and Nebel.

Shortly after, Weiper forced Turk into make a save to deny his low shot (75’). The striker was then fouled inside the box by Lovro Golic, as Woltemade stepped up to wrap up his hat-trick from the penalty spot. He was then taken off and replaced by Paul Wanner, with his three goals ultimately sealing a 3-0 victory for Germany in their opening game of the competition.

Next up, they will face Czechia on 15th June at 21:00 CEST.