Only one day after the Germany U19s’ success, the U20s showed nerves of steel to win the Mercedes-Benz Elite Cup. Frank Wormuth’s DFB youngsters went into the final against an unbeaten England U20s side and beat the ‘Young Lions’ 1-0, making it three wins in three and clinching the title. Due to their superior goal difference, a draw would have meant the Elite Cup went to England. So a win was crucial for the Germany U20s.
On an evening of truly ‘English weather’ – low temperatures, wind and rain in Heidenheim’s Voith-Arena, Max Dittgen scored the winning goal in the 49th minute and sent this strong-looking DFB-Team to victory.
"In the first half we were chasing the game a bit. Our passes were a little inaccurate as well. But the team improved massively over the course of the game: In the second half, we showed the quality we had shown in the previous two victories in the Mercedes-Benz Elite Cup. We started to play our own game," said Wormuth, who has many positives to take out of the tournament: "In the three games, we came up against three teams each with a very different game plan and style of play. In all three games we played our own way and won them all. That’s something my team can be proud of – and I am certainly proud of them and their performance."
Germany’s defence put to the test as England start strongly
Following a 3-1 victory against the Netherlands and a 2-1 victory over Turkey, England understandably went into the game with confidence levels at a high, and in front of 1537 spectators, they proved themselves from the start to be the difficult opponents that Wormuth had been expecting. "For me it is especially important how we go about our game when we come up against an opposition who will really test us and ask questions of us in every aspect of the game," said the coach ahead of the match.
The DFB-Team’s defence was put to the test in the early stages of the game – England were a constant threat to Germany’s goal. Wormuth’s team meanwhile barely had a sight at goal, with the final ball lacking the required accuracy. Shots from Marvin Stefaniak of Dynamo Dresden and Luca Waldschmidt of Eintracht Frankfurt did however act as the first chances for Germany. The best chance of the half fell to FC Ingolstadt’s Robert Bauer in the 28th minute, whose shot from the edge of the box sailed just wide of the post. Overall, the visitors from England had more of the game and the better of the chances, but Germany defended against them with full concentration.
Refreshed for the restart - Dittgen puts the U20s ahead
After the half-time break, Germany increased the pressure, pressed England in their build-up play and forced the visitors into mistakes. One of these mistakes: A loss of possession in the midfield led to Dittgen being played through on goal. The 20-year-old showed nerves of steel to bury the chance and make it 1-0. It was the second goal of the tournament for the SG Sonnenhof Großaspach striker. His first goal was the only one in the opening game against Turkey.
Germany went on to boss the game from here, moved the ball around nicely and barely allowed England a sight at goal. Aside from one or two incidents, England didn’t even infiltrate the Germany U20s’ half, and when they did, the DFB-Team was alert and dealt with the danger. All in all, Germany looked fresher, more determined, more aggressive, even with Wormuth’s side losing their touch in the final third a little after taking the lead. In the 84th minute, Maximilian Wittek of 1860 Munich missed the chance to kill the game from a tight angle. Germany managed to see out the victory without any problems. Goalkeeper Fabian Bredlow thwarted the last significant attack from England in the final minute.