Serbia made life difficult for Germany in the opening game of the 2015 U21 European Championship, which is being hosted in the Czech Republic. The game finished 1-1 in Prague; Emre Can grabbed the goal for Horst Hrubesch’s men. In the group’s other game, Denmark beat the hosts 2-1.
“We weren’t good in the first half but we improved after the break,” summarised goalscorer Can. “We need to improve in the next game against Denmark.
The DFB Team looked nervous early on and fell behind after just eight minutes. In what was the first real chance of the game, Filip Djuricic nutmegged Knoche before calmly slotting past Marc-André ter Stegen.
Ter Stegen had been selected for the game ahead of Bernd Leno and Timo Horn "It was a tough decision. We have three great keepers but Marc got the nod. The keepers are all at the same level so there’s not really a first, second or third choice,” explained Horst Hrubesch.
Wonderful finish from Can
The early setback brought Germany to life and they levelled nine minutes later. Clever play from Amin Younes and a tidy pass from Kevin Volland saw Can receive the ball in the box. The Liverpool star performed a neat bit of skill before hiring home impressively.
After the goal Hrubesch’s men began to have more control of the game, however, the Serbians looked more likely to score again. Jojic could have given them the lead again after 27 minutes and Causic had an effort tipped onto the bar by ter Stegen shortly before the break.
Moritz Leitner was booked before the break and was replaced by Joshua Kimmich at the interval. The opening exchanges of the second half were a stop-start affair, with referee Javier Estrada Fernández (Spain) dishing out three yellow cards (to Germany’s Christian Günter and Serbia’s Causic and Brasanac).
Günter dismissed
The first chance of the second period went the way of Serbia, who knocked out Spain in the play-offs. Jojic’s effort from the edge of the box was claimed easily by ter Stegen (56’). Germany went straight up the other end and could have taken the lead but Philipp Hofmann headed over after great work from Volland. The skipper had an effort himself 10 minutes later but failed to convert when well placed.
With 20 minutes to go, Germany were reduced to 10 men. Referee Fernández gave Günter a second yellow for simulation. In order to help close the game out, Hrubesch took off striker Hofmann and replaced him with Nico Schulz.
The numerical disadvantage didn’t hold the DFB Team back. They had their best phase of the game and came closer than Serbia to grabbing a winner. With just five minutes to play Volland had the chance to put his name in the headlines but his effort was blocked after great work from sub Leonardo Bittencourt.
Germany return to Group A action on Saturday (20:45 CEST) when they face Denmark. The final group stage match takes place against the hosts on Tuesday (20:45 CEST). Should they reach the semis, Hrubesch’s side will qualify for the Olympic Games for the first time since 1988. On that occasion they picked up a bronze medal in Seoul.
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Serbia made life difficult for Germany in the opening game of the 2015 U21 European Championship, which is being hosted in the Czech Republic. The game finished 1-1 in Prague; Emre Can grabbed the goal for Horst Hrubesch’s men. In the group’s other game, Denmark beat the hosts 2-1.
“We weren’t good in the first half but we improved after the break,” summarised goalscorer Can. “We need to improve in the next game against Denmark.
The DFB Team looked nervous early on and fell behind after just eight minutes. In what was the first real chance of the game, Filip Djuricic nutmegged Knoche before calmly slotting past Marc-André ter Stegen.
Ter Stegen had been selected for the game ahead of Bernd Leno and Timo Horn "It was a tough decision. We have three great keepers but Marc got the nod. The keepers are all at the same level so there’s not really a first, second or third choice,” explained Horst Hrubesch.
Wonderful finish from Can
The early setback brought Germany to life and they levelled nine minutes later. Clever play from Amin Younes and a tidy pass from Kevin Volland saw Can receive the ball in the box. The Liverpool star performed a neat bit of skill before hiring home impressively.
After the goal Hrubesch’s men began to have more control of the game, however, the Serbians looked more likely to score again. Jojic could have given them the lead again after 27 minutes and Causic had an effort tipped onto the bar by ter Stegen shortly before the break.
Moritz Leitner was booked before the break and was replaced by Joshua Kimmich at the interval. The opening exchanges of the second half were a stop-start affair, with referee Javier Estrada Fernández (Spain) dishing out three yellow cards (to Germany’s Christian Günter and Serbia’s Causic and Brasanac).
Günter dismissed
The first chance of the second period went the way of Serbia, who knocked out Spain in the play-offs. Jojic’s effort from the edge of the box was claimed easily by ter Stegen (56’). Germany went straight up the other end and could have taken the lead but Philipp Hofmann headed over after great work from Volland. The skipper had an effort himself 10 minutes later but failed to convert when well placed.
With 20 minutes to go, Germany were reduced to 10 men. Referee Fernández gave Günter a second yellow for simulation. In order to help close the game out, Hrubesch took off striker Hofmann and replaced him with Nico Schulz.
The numerical disadvantage didn’t hold the DFB Team back. They had their best phase of the game and came closer than Serbia to grabbing a winner. With just five minutes to play Volland had the chance to put his name in the headlines but his effort was blocked after great work from sub Leonardo Bittencourt.
Germany return to Group A action on Saturday (20:45 CEST) when they face Denmark. The final group stage match takes place against the hosts on Tuesday (20:45 CEST). Should they reach the semis, Hrubesch’s side will qualify for the Olympic Games for the first time since 1988. On that occasion they picked up a bronze medal in Seoul.
