25 shots versus two, ten shots on target versus two, twelve corners versus one, more possession, more distance covered, and all in all a very good performance. Yet, at the end of 90 minutes the scoreboard showed a 1-0 defeat. The opening match of the U19s European Championship between Germany and Italy proved just how unfair football can be.
Anyway, as yesterday went on, the 18 players and the coaching staff recovered from the shock, and on Thursday they will go again. They are up against Portugal in Großaspach (19:30 CEST, live on Eurosport).
After matchday one, Group A shapes up as follows: Italy lead with three points, ahead of Austria and Portugal, who are both on one point after a 1-1 draw in Stuttgart on Monday evening. Germany are currently sitting in last place with no points, but still have every chance. However, a win against Portugal is an absolute must.
Streichsbier: "The focus lies on fine details"
U19s head coach Guido Streichsbier is well aware of this. The 46-year-old is fully focussed on training over the next couple of days. "We showed a lot of positives against Italy, and we don’t need to start from scratch", he said. "The focus lies on a couple of fine details in defence and on our pace in attack."
Janni-Luca Serra played an hour of his first competitive international match before being taken off. The Dortmunder looked convincing as a target man, winning many challenges and creating good chances. However, his disappoint was clear to see after the match: "We gave everything and played a great game. To not be rewarded for it is such a shame."
The 18-year-old didn’t have much to say about his own performance, but the delight about having made his first appearance was obvious: "I am happy to be in the squad for the EUROs. It was a great experience to run out in front of 55,000 people. I think I held myself well."
Serra: "The keeper had a good game"
Two particularly strong headers on Alex Meret’s goal, which highlighted Serra’s exceptional match, were still on the young Dortmunder’s mind. "If I had got a bit more behind them, they might have gone in", stated Serra in a self-critical mood, before looking to the future in a more optimistic light. "For us it is now important to recover well and put in just as strong a performance against Portugal."
We can only hope that the shots, corners, and possession statistics are very similar to how they were in the game against Italy. But this time let’s get one more goal than the opposition.