The Germany U21s kick start their European Under-21 Championship campaign against Czech Republic on Sunday evening (18:00 CEST). DFB.de brings you all the stats and facts ahead of the opener.
HEAD-TO-HEAD: Of the 14 meetings between the Germany and Czech Republich U21s, eight have ended in 1-1 draws (four victories, four defeats) – the most draws against any other opponent. All of the last three ties ended 1-1, but before that came a 2-1 home defeat in a EUROs qualifier in September 2009 – the only defeat in the last seven meetings. Germany scored in 13 of the 14 matches
THE MOST RECENT MEETING: The last time these two nations met was also the only time they faced in the European Championship – the group stage match in Prague on 23rd June 2015 ended 1-1 with Ladislav Krejci cancelling out Nico Schulz’s opener. The -draw saw the hosts eliminated from the tournament, while Germany progressed to the semi-finals and secured a spot at the Rio Olympics. Of the current squad, only Max Meyer remains from the team involved that day.
FORM: Germany have lost two of the last three internationals 1-0, following on from a record-breaking 13-game winning streak. However, Germany won all then of their ten previous competitive matches before that (2010-2012). In addition, the U21s haven’t drawn in 17 matches – a German record. Naturally, the last came in the 1-1 draw against Czech Republic at the U21 EUROs in 2015.
OPPONENT: The Czech Republic U21s team were formed in 1994 out of the Czechoslovakian team. Combined, they have featured in 12 previous European Championships, with the greatest success coming with the competition win in Switzerland in 2002, where they beat France 3-1 on penalties. They also reached the final two years prior to that, but had to make do with a 2-1 defeat to Italy in Bratislava. Czech Republic have won six of their last eight matches going into the summer’s tournament.
THE COACH: Vitezslav Lavicka has been head coach of the Czech U21s since the nation hosted the tournament in 2015. He has been crowned champion in the Czech first division twice: in 2006 with Slovan Liberec and 2014 with Sparta Prague, where he completed the double. In 2010, he won the Australian A-League with Sydney FC. He also had a spell as head coach of the U21s between 2007 and 2008. During his playing days, he won seven league titles with Sparta Prague.
TYCHY CITY STADIUM: Tychy is a city with around 130,000 inhabitants and place-of-birth of Germany’s U20s World Cup record goalscorers, Marcel Witeczek, and former Leverkusen and Augsburg striker Arkadiusz Milik. The Stadion Miejski, originally opened in 1970, was torn down in 2013 and re-built.1. FC Köln beat GKS Tychy 1-0 in the stadium opener back in 2015. It was a rematch of the UEFA Cup first round tie between the two sides in 1967 – to date GKS’s only appearance in a European competition. The stadium seats 15,150. Germany U21s lost 1-0 in a friendly against Poland here in 2016.
HAPPY MEMORIES: Stefan Kuntz played his final match for the Germany U21s on 16th November 1985 against Czechoslovakia. He also scored two of his three goals for the U21s in the 3-1 win in Regensburg. Kuntz has even greater memories with the senior team, however. At EURO 1996, won twice against Czech Republic: 2-0 in the group and 2-1 in the final at Wembley.
MILESTONE PENDING: Germany is three goals away from it’s 50th at a European Under-21 Championship.
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The Germany U21s kick start their European Under-21 Championship campaign against Czech Republic on Sunday evening (18:00 CEST). DFB.de brings you all the stats and facts ahead of the opener.
HEAD-TO-HEAD: Of the 14 meetings between the Germany and Czech Republich U21s, eight have ended in 1-1 draws (four victories, four defeats) – the most draws against any other opponent. All of the last three ties ended 1-1, but before that came a 2-1 home defeat in a EUROs qualifier in September 2009 – the only defeat in the last seven meetings. Germany scored in 13 of the 14 matches
THE MOST RECENT MEETING: The last time these two nations met was also the only time they faced in the European Championship – the group stage match in Prague on 23rd June 2015 ended 1-1 with Ladislav Krejci cancelling out Nico Schulz’s opener. The -draw saw the hosts eliminated from the tournament, while Germany progressed to the semi-finals and secured a spot at the Rio Olympics. Of the current squad, only Max Meyer remains from the team involved that day.
FORM: Germany have lost two of the last three internationals 1-0, following on from a record-breaking 13-game winning streak. However, Germany won all then of their ten previous competitive matches before that (2010-2012). In addition, the U21s haven’t drawn in 17 matches – a German record. Naturally, the last came in the 1-1 draw against Czech Republic at the U21 EUROs in 2015.
OPPONENT: The Czech Republic U21s team were formed in 1994 out of the Czechoslovakian team. Combined, they have featured in 12 previous European Championships, with the greatest success coming with the competition win in Switzerland in 2002, where they beat France 3-1 on penalties. They also reached the final two years prior to that, but had to make do with a 2-1 defeat to Italy in Bratislava. Czech Republic have won six of their last eight matches going into the summer’s tournament.
THE COACH: Vitezslav Lavicka has been head coach of the Czech U21s since the nation hosted the tournament in 2015. He has been crowned champion in the Czech first division twice: in 2006 with Slovan Liberec and 2014 with Sparta Prague, where he completed the double. In 2010, he won the Australian A-League with Sydney FC. He also had a spell as head coach of the U21s between 2007 and 2008. During his playing days, he won seven league titles with Sparta Prague.
TYCHY CITY STADIUM: Tychy is a city with around 130,000 inhabitants and place-of-birth of Germany’s U20s World Cup record goalscorers, Marcel Witeczek, and former Leverkusen and Augsburg striker Arkadiusz Milik. The Stadion Miejski, originally opened in 1970, was torn down in 2013 and re-built.1. FC Köln beat GKS Tychy 1-0 in the stadium opener back in 2015. It was a rematch of the UEFA Cup first round tie between the two sides in 1967 – to date GKS’s only appearance in a European competition. The stadium seats 15,150. Germany U21s lost 1-0 in a friendly against Poland here in 2016.
HAPPY MEMORIES: Stefan Kuntz played his final match for the Germany U21s on 16th November 1985 against Czechoslovakia. He also scored two of his three goals for the U21s in the 3-1 win in Regensburg. Kuntz has even greater memories with the senior team, however. At EURO 1996, won twice against Czech Republic: 2-0 in the group and 2-1 in the final at Wembley.
MILESTONE PENDING: Germany is three goals away from it’s 50th at a European Under-21 Championship.
