Second game, second win: The U17 national team are on track for the finals in Bulgaria (6th-22nd May) after another win in the qualifying round. In front of 2000 spectators in Marburg, Christian Wück’s German side beat Ukraine 3-0. The young side also won their first game 3-0 against Slovakia on Saturday and should Italy avoid defeat in the day’s second group match against Slovakia, Germany will definitely qualify.
“It was a real battle of a game, which we had set up for”, summed up Wück. “The Ukrainians didn’t change their style of play after going 1-0 down, which surprised us. It made things very difficult for us. My players are pretty knackered now and need the two days rest to recover, both physically and mentally.”
Germany’s sporting director, Hansi Flick, who watched the game from the stands, was full of praise for the German side’s performance: “The team deserved the win. This is a strong age group, that is showing a lot of ability. We will continue to demand more from the team as a result.”
First chance, first goal
It took just one chance, against the defensively minded eastern European side, to open the scoring for Germany. Captain Felix Passlack of Borussia Dortmund scored in the 12th minute from a direct free kick. VfL Bochum’s Gökhan Gül doubled the lead after a corner from Enes Akyol (Hertha BSC) in the 68th minute, before Werder Bremen’s Niklas Schmidt wrapped it up on 74 minutes.
Germany face Italy on Thursday (11:00 CET) in what will be the final group game and qualifier for the summer’s championships. The U17s can qualify for the finals, either as one of eight group winners or one of the seven best runners up.
Second game, second win: The U17 national team are on track for the finals in Bulgaria (6th-22nd May) after another win in the qualifying round. In front of 2000 spectators in Marburg, Christian Wück’s German side beat Ukraine 3-0. The young side also won their first game 3-0 against Slovakia on Saturday and should Italy avoid defeat in the day’s second group match against Slovakia, Germany will definitely qualify.
“It was a real battle of a game, which we had set up for”, summed up Wück. “The Ukrainians didn’t change their style of play after going 1-0 down, which surprised us. It made things very difficult for us. My players are pretty knackered now and need the two days rest to recover, both physically and mentally.”
Germany’s sporting director, Hansi Flick, who watched the game from the stands, was full of praise for the German side’s performance: “The team deserved the win. This is a strong age group, that is showing a lot of ability. We will continue to demand more from the team as a result.”
First chance, first goal
It took just one chance, against the defensively minded eastern European side, to open the scoring for Germany. Captain Felix Passlack of Borussia Dortmund scored in the 12th minute from a direct free kick. VfL Bochum’s Gökhan Gül doubled the lead after a corner from Enes Akyol (Hertha BSC) in the 68th minute, before Werder Bremen’s Niklas Schmidt wrapped it up on 74 minutes.
Germany face Italy on Thursday (11:00 CET) in what will be the final group game and qualifier for the summer’s championships. The U17s can qualify for the finals, either as one of eight group winners or one of the seven best runners up.
