In the end, all that was missing was a goal. The Germany U19 national team’s dream of defending their title is over at the group stages. In the final group game at the EUROs in Greece, Marcus Sorg’s side failed to secure the required win to take them through to the semi-final, as they drew 2-2 with Russia. Germany finished bottom of Group B and will be coming home early.
“To go out when all the teams are level on points is obviously very tough to take“, said Sorg. “Because of that, we’re naturally very disappointed, but the boys showed great mentality and have gained an incredible amount of experience at this tournament. It will help them in their development which is a small consolation at least.”
Following the 3-0 opening defeat to Spain, Germany kept their hopes alive after a hard-fought 1-0 win against the Netherlands. They started well, taking the lead through Thilo Kehrer in the 12th minute, but the glory didn’t last long for the FC Schalke 04 player, who then scored an own goal to level the score after 32 minutes. Russia went on to take the lead in injury time at the end of the first half through Bezdenezhnykh. Sorg’s side put on a determined performance in the second half, indeed finding an equaliser through Timo Werder, but it wasn’t enough to carry them through to the semi-finals. Group winners Russia will be accompanied by Spain, who drew 1-1 with the Netherlands in the group’s other game, in the semi-finals.
Dream start thanks to Kehrer
Sorg put his faith in the team that beat the Netherlands in the previous group game, with the Bundesliga tested Jonathan Tah (Hamburger SV), Nadiem Amiri (1899 Hoffenheim), Leroy Sané (FC Schalke) and Timo Werner (VfB Stuttgart) all in the starting XI. Gianluca Rizzo remained on the bench despite his last-minute winner on Friday.
Germany got off to an electric start in the in the Katerini sun: Luca Waldschmidt's corner was headed onto the crossbar by Werner. Schalke’s Kehrer reacted quicker than the Russian defender and forced the ball over the line from close range to make it 1-0. Especially from set pieces, Germany looked increasingly dangerous in the early stages of the match. Werner almost made it 2-0 soon after, but for the offside flag ruling it out. Germany grew increasingly more comfortable in their link-up play as they looked to extend their lead. Both Sané and Werner once again lacked the required precision with their long range efforts.
Shock before the break
The game then began to tilt in favour of the Russians. After a largely ineffective start, they fought their way back into the game and found themselves camped in the German half. The first noteworthy chance for Russia came through Aleksandr Golovin, but Leipzig defender Lukas Klostermann did brilliantly to stop the ball from crossing the line. The deserved breakthrough came after an unfortunate Kehrer own goal, after the ball spun off the outside of his boot and trickled into the net.
Germany were unable to fully recover from the setback as Russia increasingly began to dominate until the break. In injury time, Bezdenezhnykh found himself unmarked in the box and struck a low shot into the far corner to make it 2-1.
Werner’s equaliser not enough for the semi-final
Sorg not only brought on Rizzo for Kehrer during the break, be it was also visibly clear that he had given them a rallying team talk, as his team started the second half just as they did the first and their determination was on show from the off. Amiri missed the chance to equalise immediately after kickoff, before coming close again just moments later. Rizzo was unlucky not to equalise mid way through the half, but Timo Werner finally netted the deserved equaliser in the 68th minutes.
Germany threw caution to the win in the dramatic final stages, leaving them exposed to the opposition. Ayaz Guliev’s cracking freekick smashed against the German crossbar in the 86th minute, whilst at the other end of the pitch, Köln’s Lucas Cueto missed by a fraction in injury time from close range. Russia will face Greece in their semi-final, whilst France meet Spain.
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In the end, all that was missing was a goal. The Germany U19 national team’s dream of defending their title is over at the group stages. In the final group game at the EUROs in Greece, Marcus Sorg’s side failed to secure the required win to take them through to the semi-final, as they drew 2-2 with Russia. Germany finished bottom of Group B and will be coming home early.
“To go out when all the teams are level on points is obviously very tough to take“, said Sorg. “Because of that, we’re naturally very disappointed, but the boys showed great mentality and have gained an incredible amount of experience at this tournament. It will help them in their development which is a small consolation at least.”
Following the 3-0 opening defeat to Spain, Germany kept their hopes alive after a hard-fought 1-0 win against the Netherlands. They started well, taking the lead through Thilo Kehrer in the 12th minute, but the glory didn’t last long for the FC Schalke 04 player, who then scored an own goal to level the score after 32 minutes. Russia went on to take the lead in injury time at the end of the first half through Bezdenezhnykh. Sorg’s side put on a determined performance in the second half, indeed finding an equaliser through Timo Werder, but it wasn’t enough to carry them through to the semi-finals. Group winners Russia will be accompanied by Spain, who drew 1-1 with the Netherlands in the group’s other game, in the semi-finals.
Dream start thanks to Kehrer
Sorg put his faith in the team that beat the Netherlands in the previous group game, with the Bundesliga tested Jonathan Tah (Hamburger SV), Nadiem Amiri (1899 Hoffenheim), Leroy Sané (FC Schalke) and Timo Werner (VfB Stuttgart) all in the starting XI. Gianluca Rizzo remained on the bench despite his last-minute winner on Friday.
Germany got off to an electric start in the in the Katerini sun: Luca Waldschmidt's corner was headed onto the crossbar by Werner. Schalke’s Kehrer reacted quicker than the Russian defender and forced the ball over the line from close range to make it 1-0. Especially from set pieces, Germany looked increasingly dangerous in the early stages of the match. Werner almost made it 2-0 soon after, but for the offside flag ruling it out. Germany grew increasingly more comfortable in their link-up play as they looked to extend their lead. Both Sané and Werner once again lacked the required precision with their long range efforts.
Shock before the break
The game then began to tilt in favour of the Russians. After a largely ineffective start, they fought their way back into the game and found themselves camped in the German half. The first noteworthy chance for Russia came through Aleksandr Golovin, but Leipzig defender Lukas Klostermann did brilliantly to stop the ball from crossing the line. The deserved breakthrough came after an unfortunate Kehrer own goal, after the ball spun off the outside of his boot and trickled into the net.
Germany were unable to fully recover from the setback as Russia increasingly began to dominate until the break. In injury time, Bezdenezhnykh found himself unmarked in the box and struck a low shot into the far corner to make it 2-1.
Werner’s equaliser not enough for the semi-final
Sorg not only brought on Rizzo for Kehrer during the break, be it was also visibly clear that he had given them a rallying team talk, as his team started the second half just as they did the first and their determination was on show from the off. Amiri missed the chance to equalise immediately after kickoff, before coming close again just moments later. Rizzo was unlucky not to equalise mid way through the half, but Timo Werner finally netted the deserved equaliser in the 68th minutes.
Germany threw caution to the win in the dramatic final stages, leaving them exposed to the opposition. Ayaz Guliev’s cracking freekick smashed against the German crossbar in the 86th minute, whilst at the other end of the pitch, Köln’s Lucas Cueto missed by a fraction in injury time from close range. Russia will face Greece in their semi-final, whilst France meet Spain.
