Germany's U17s have continued their successful display at the Algarve Cup, following up their 1-0 win against hosts Portugal with a 1-0 triumph over the Netherlands. VfB Stuttgart's Dijon Ramaj scored the decisive goal in the Estádio Municipal.
The game did not start as coach Christian Wück would have liked: "It was basically the opposite of what happened in the Portugal game. The Netherlands clearly controlled the action on the pitch in the opening minutes." The DFB youngsters found their rhythm after that though and soon scored the opener. Skipper Salih Özcan chipped the ball over the Dutch defence and Dijon Ramaj finished with a well-hit volley in the 13th minute.
The Netherlands, who had thumped England 7-0 in their opening game of the tournament, struggled to get back on track. "We had them under control after we scored the opener and kept them at bay in the second half as well," analysed Wück.
An area that may require some work though was his side’s clinical touch. "We should have taken our chances better. But we were also unfortunate at times and perhaps deserved a penalty as well." In the end, he was satisfied with their second performance at the Algarve Cup.
Germany are now in a great position to win the tournament. Their next match will be on Tuesday against England (13:00 CET), who drew 1-1 with Portugal in today’s other match. Germany's U17 are using this tournament as preparation for qualifying for the European Championship in Bulgaria in May.
Germany's U17s have continued their successful display at the Algarve Cup, following up their 1-0 win against hosts Portugal with a 1-0 triumph over the Netherlands. VfB Stuttgart's Dijon Ramaj scored the decisive goal in the Estádio Municipal.
The game did not start as coach Christian Wück would have liked: "It was basically the opposite of what happened in the Portugal game. The Netherlands clearly controlled the action on the pitch in the opening minutes." The DFB youngsters found their rhythm after that though and soon scored the opener. Skipper Salih Özcan chipped the ball over the Dutch defence and Dijon Ramaj finished with a well-hit volley in the 13th minute.
The Netherlands, who had thumped England 7-0 in their opening game of the tournament, struggled to get back on track. "We had them under control after we scored the opener and kept them at bay in the second half as well," analysed Wück.
An area that may require some work though was his side’s clinical touch. "We should have taken our chances better. But we were also unfortunate at times and perhaps deserved a penalty as well." In the end, he was satisfied with their second performance at the Algarve Cup.
Germany are now in a great position to win the tournament. Their next match will be on Tuesday against England (13:00 CET), who drew 1-1 with Portugal in today’s other match. Germany's U17 are using this tournament as preparation for qualifying for the European Championship in Bulgaria in May.
