The Germany U21 team made a good start to 2017 with a 1-0 win against England. Their preparations for the European Championships continue on Tuesday (18:00 CEST) when Stefan Kuntz’s team face Portugal. The game will take place in Stuttgart and we’ve taken a look at some of the key facts and stats ahead of the match.
HEAD-TO-HEAD: This will be the twelfth meeting between Germany and Portugal’s U21s. Portugal have won five of those meetings, Germany three and three have ended in a draw. The goal ratio stands at 21-16 in favour of Portugal.
Germany U21s' last victory against Portugal came over 20 years ago. On 13th December 1996, Germany beat Portugal 2-1 in a European Championsip qualification game thanks to a brace of goals from Kai Michalke. Since then, Germany have gone five consecutive games against Portugal without victory, four of those have been defeats. The last and most bitter of those came in the 5-1 semi-final defeat at the 2015 European Championships in the Czech Republic. At the time, the Portugal side included Raphael Guerreiro of Borussia Dortmund and William Carvalho, Joao Mario and Rafa Silva, who all won the European Championships in 2016.
Goals in this fixture are always guaranteed. There have been 37 goals in total in all games between the sides which is an average of 3.4 goals per game. There has never been a goalless draw in this fixture. Only the Netherlands (22) have scored more goals against the Germans than Portugal (21). Portugal U21s have scored in all but one of their meetings with their German counterparts. On 15th October 1985, Germany won 2-0 in Karlsruhe. At the time, Berti Vogts was the trainer of the Germany U21s. Portugal have scored at least one in each of the last eight meetings. Six of the last nine goals which Portgual have scored against Germany have come in the first-half.
Three of the eleven battles with Portugal have come at the European Championships. Along with the 5-0 defeat in 2015, Germany also lost to Portugal 2-1 in 2004 and 1-0 in 2006.
PREMIERE IN STUTTGART: This is the first time that the Germany U21s will play in Stuttgart. The Waldaustadion in the Degerloch part of Stuttgart hosted its only full international match on 26th March 1911 – Germany’s 6-2 victory over Switzerland.
The home ground of the Stuttgart Kickers hosted the preliminary rounds of the U19 European Championships in 2016. Portugal drew 1-1 with Italy at this stadium during this competition. Germany U19s played their opening match of this competition just down the road at the Mercedes Benz Arena and lost 1-0 to Italy. Benjamin Henrichs played in that match and is expected to feature for thze U21s against Portugal.
In 2015, the U19s celebrated an 8-1 victory against the USA in the Waldaustadion. Henrichs also played in this match as the Germans thrashed a USA team managed by former Germany manager Jurgen Klinsmann’s son Jonathan.
There was a historic match in Stuttgart at the 2006 World Cup, as Germany beat Portugal 3-1 in the third place play-off.
Opponent overview: The Portuguese U21 national team played their first official international game on 28th November 1976, which won by scoreline of 2-1 against Luxembourg.
Their greatest successes came in the European Championship finals of 1994 and 2015, in which they were runners-up both times. In the former, the Esperancas were defeated by Italy on account of a golden goal in Montpellier, and in 2015 were beaten 4-3 on penalties in the final by Sweden. In the 2009, 2011, and 2013 editions of the competition, the Portuguese failed to progress past the tournament’s group stages.
Portugal will definitely be making an appearance in the 2017 U21 European Championships, having emerged as the victors of group four with a record of eight wins and two draws. They also accrued a total of 26 points, good enough to put them ahead of Israel (21), Greece (13), Albania and Hungary (12 each), and Liechtenstein (zero). Portugal are set to take on Serbia, Spain, and Macedonia in Group B of this year’s European Championship.
Their most convincing win came in a 8-1 domination over Armenia on 19th August 1997 in Estoril, whilst their heaviest loss came against Italy, who put six goals past them whilst keeping a clean sheet, on 2nd December 1987 in Piacenza.
Portugal’s most capped player at the U21 level is Manuel Fernandes, thanks to his 30 appearances. He is also the cousin of former Freiburg Bundesliga professional Gelson Fernandes. Hugo Almeida remains top goalscorer for the U21 outfit, with 16 goals. Since then, he has gone on to appear in 124 Bundesliga games for Bremen and Hannover combined, and has 42 goals from those matches to his name.
The manager: The Esperancas’ manager is called Rui Jorge de Sousa Dias Macedo de Oliveira – or just Rui Jorge. The former FC Porto and Sporting Lisbon central defender, who also has 45 caps for Portugal, was a seven-time Portuguese league winner during his time as a player. Later, he had a brief stint as the manager of top-tier side Belenenses, where he also had some experience managing their youth squads. As of 19th November 2010, he has been the manager of the Portugal U21s, and he took the national team to a runners-up place in his own country. Incidentally, Rui Jorge celebrates his 44th birthday today.
HISTORY:Matthias Ginter and Max Meyer were involved in the 5-0 semi-final defeat at the U21 European Championships in the Czech Republic back in 2015 as well as Maximilian Arnold, who was in the squad. Tobias Figueiredo and Rica Horta, who came on in the final as a substitute, played for the Portuguese. Bruno Varela, Ruben Neves, Iuri Medeiros, Goncalo Paciencia and Stuttgart’s Carlos Mane were on the bench.
Portugal’s Carlos Mane currently plays for VfB Stuttgart alongside Timo Baumgartl. They have played a total of 17 matches together over the course of the 2016/2017 season.
RECORD FORM AT HOME: Germany are unbeaten at home in 32 games (25 wins, seven draws). That is a national record. Their last defeat on home turf was a 2-1 loss against the Czech Republic in European Championship qualification on 8th September 2009. They have also won all of their previous nine matches on home soil, extending the record in the process. The previous best run of form had been seven wins between October 2007 and September 2008 under Dieter Eilts’ coaching.
Germany have scored in all of their last 16 home games, finding the back of the net 48 times over that period. Their last goalless draw came against France on 13th August 2013. Moreover Germany have not conceded a goal in seven of their last eight encounters before the break. Germany U21s have scored at least one goal in the first half in 13 of their last 14 fixtures.
Germany have triumphed in a total of 14 of their last 15 internationals. The 1-0 defeat in Poland on 15th November 2016 was their only defeat under Stefan Kuntz.
Portugal’s Esperancas is unbeaten in 18 (twelve wins, six draws). Their defeat on penalties against Sweden in the final of the 2015 European Championships was recorded officially as a draw. The Portuguese last lost almost two years ago to the day, on 31st March 2015 against the Czech Republic in Prague.
THE REGULAR: Niklas Stark is the only player who has featured in all of the U21s’ last nine matches.
ONE GOAL AWAY: The Germany U21s are just one goal from reaching a total of 350.
ATTACKING FLAIR: Germany had the best goalscoring record in qualifying for the European Championships with 35 goals, just one ahead of the Portuguese on 34. Kuntz’s side have proven their versatility and their last six goals were scored by six different players (Maximilian Arnold, Levin Öztunali, Davie Selke, Janik Haberer, Jeremy Toljan, Nadiem Amiri).
Portugal beat Norway 3-1 in their first fixture of 2017. Goncalo Paciencia, Ruben Semedo and Diogo Jota got the goals. Rui Jorge’s men scored two of their three goals from headers, with the other coming from the spot.
SUCCESS AGAINST ENGLAND: Nadiem Amiri scored against England last Friday on his sixth appearance for the U21s. His last strike had come almost two years ago in the 6-0 victory for the U19s over the Czech Republic.
Gideon Jung, Marc-Oliver Kempf and Thilo Kehrer made their debuts for the U21s against England. Odisseas Vlachodimos is the only player in the squad who is yet to make an appearance.
PERSONNEL: Stefan Kuntz will have to do without Mitchell Weiser and Julian Pollersbeck against Portugal. Pollersbeck has withdrawn himself due to personal reasons, while Weiser picked up a muscle injury against England and is therefore not available.
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The Germany U21 team made a good start to 2017 with a 1-0 win against England. Their preparations for the European Championships continue on Tuesday (18:00 CEST) when Stefan Kuntz’s team face Portugal. The game will take place in Stuttgart and we’ve taken a look at some of the key facts and stats ahead of the match.
HEAD-TO-HEAD: This will be the twelfth meeting between Germany and Portugal’s U21s. Portugal have won five of those meetings, Germany three and three have ended in a draw. The goal ratio stands at 21-16 in favour of Portugal.
Germany U21s' last victory against Portugal came over 20 years ago. On 13th December 1996, Germany beat Portugal 2-1 in a European Championsip qualification game thanks to a brace of goals from Kai Michalke. Since then, Germany have gone five consecutive games against Portugal without victory, four of those have been defeats. The last and most bitter of those came in the 5-1 semi-final defeat at the 2015 European Championships in the Czech Republic. At the time, the Portugal side included Raphael Guerreiro of Borussia Dortmund and William Carvalho, Joao Mario and Rafa Silva, who all won the European Championships in 2016.
Goals in this fixture are always guaranteed. There have been 37 goals in total in all games between the sides which is an average of 3.4 goals per game. There has never been a goalless draw in this fixture. Only the Netherlands (22) have scored more goals against the Germans than Portugal (21). Portugal U21s have scored in all but one of their meetings with their German counterparts. On 15th October 1985, Germany won 2-0 in Karlsruhe. At the time, Berti Vogts was the trainer of the Germany U21s. Portugal have scored at least one in each of the last eight meetings. Six of the last nine goals which Portgual have scored against Germany have come in the first-half.
Three of the eleven battles with Portugal have come at the European Championships. Along with the 5-0 defeat in 2015, Germany also lost to Portugal 2-1 in 2004 and 1-0 in 2006.
PREMIERE IN STUTTGART: This is the first time that the Germany U21s will play in Stuttgart. The Waldaustadion in the Degerloch part of Stuttgart hosted its only full international match on 26th March 1911 – Germany’s 6-2 victory over Switzerland.
The home ground of the Stuttgart Kickers hosted the preliminary rounds of the U19 European Championships in 2016. Portugal drew 1-1 with Italy at this stadium during this competition. Germany U19s played their opening match of this competition just down the road at the Mercedes Benz Arena and lost 1-0 to Italy. Benjamin Henrichs played in that match and is expected to feature for thze U21s against Portugal.
In 2015, the U19s celebrated an 8-1 victory against the USA in the Waldaustadion. Henrichs also played in this match as the Germans thrashed a USA team managed by former Germany manager Jurgen Klinsmann’s son Jonathan.
There was a historic match in Stuttgart at the 2006 World Cup, as Germany beat Portugal 3-1 in the third place play-off.
Opponent overview: The Portuguese U21 national team played their first official international game on 28th November 1976, which won by scoreline of 2-1 against Luxembourg.
Their greatest successes came in the European Championship finals of 1994 and 2015, in which they were runners-up both times. In the former, the Esperancas were defeated by Italy on account of a golden goal in Montpellier, and in 2015 were beaten 4-3 on penalties in the final by Sweden. In the 2009, 2011, and 2013 editions of the competition, the Portuguese failed to progress past the tournament’s group stages.
Portugal will definitely be making an appearance in the 2017 U21 European Championships, having emerged as the victors of group four with a record of eight wins and two draws. They also accrued a total of 26 points, good enough to put them ahead of Israel (21), Greece (13), Albania and Hungary (12 each), and Liechtenstein (zero). Portugal are set to take on Serbia, Spain, and Macedonia in Group B of this year’s European Championship.
Their most convincing win came in a 8-1 domination over Armenia on 19th August 1997 in Estoril, whilst their heaviest loss came against Italy, who put six goals past them whilst keeping a clean sheet, on 2nd December 1987 in Piacenza.
Portugal’s most capped player at the U21 level is Manuel Fernandes, thanks to his 30 appearances. He is also the cousin of former Freiburg Bundesliga professional Gelson Fernandes. Hugo Almeida remains top goalscorer for the U21 outfit, with 16 goals. Since then, he has gone on to appear in 124 Bundesliga games for Bremen and Hannover combined, and has 42 goals from those matches to his name.
The manager: The Esperancas’ manager is called Rui Jorge de Sousa Dias Macedo de Oliveira – or just Rui Jorge. The former FC Porto and Sporting Lisbon central defender, who also has 45 caps for Portugal, was a seven-time Portuguese league winner during his time as a player. Later, he had a brief stint as the manager of top-tier side Belenenses, where he also had some experience managing their youth squads. As of 19th November 2010, he has been the manager of the Portugal U21s, and he took the national team to a runners-up place in his own country. Incidentally, Rui Jorge celebrates his 44th birthday today.
HISTORY:Matthias Ginter and Max Meyer were involved in the 5-0 semi-final defeat at the U21 European Championships in the Czech Republic back in 2015 as well as Maximilian Arnold, who was in the squad. Tobias Figueiredo and Rica Horta, who came on in the final as a substitute, played for the Portuguese. Bruno Varela, Ruben Neves, Iuri Medeiros, Goncalo Paciencia and Stuttgart’s Carlos Mane were on the bench.
Portugal’s Carlos Mane currently plays for VfB Stuttgart alongside Timo Baumgartl. They have played a total of 17 matches together over the course of the 2016/2017 season.
RECORD FORM AT HOME: Germany are unbeaten at home in 32 games (25 wins, seven draws). That is a national record. Their last defeat on home turf was a 2-1 loss against the Czech Republic in European Championship qualification on 8th September 2009. They have also won all of their previous nine matches on home soil, extending the record in the process. The previous best run of form had been seven wins between October 2007 and September 2008 under Dieter Eilts’ coaching.
Germany have scored in all of their last 16 home games, finding the back of the net 48 times over that period. Their last goalless draw came against France on 13th August 2013. Moreover Germany have not conceded a goal in seven of their last eight encounters before the break. Germany U21s have scored at least one goal in the first half in 13 of their last 14 fixtures.
Germany have triumphed in a total of 14 of their last 15 internationals. The 1-0 defeat in Poland on 15th November 2016 was their only defeat under Stefan Kuntz.
Portugal’s Esperancas is unbeaten in 18 (twelve wins, six draws). Their defeat on penalties against Sweden in the final of the 2015 European Championships was recorded officially as a draw. The Portuguese last lost almost two years ago to the day, on 31st March 2015 against the Czech Republic in Prague.
THE REGULAR: Niklas Stark is the only player who has featured in all of the U21s’ last nine matches.
ONE GOAL AWAY: The Germany U21s are just one goal from reaching a total of 350.
ATTACKING FLAIR: Germany had the best goalscoring record in qualifying for the European Championships with 35 goals, just one ahead of the Portuguese on 34. Kuntz’s side have proven their versatility and their last six goals were scored by six different players (Maximilian Arnold, Levin Öztunali, Davie Selke, Janik Haberer, Jeremy Toljan, Nadiem Amiri).
Portugal beat Norway 3-1 in their first fixture of 2017. Goncalo Paciencia, Ruben Semedo and Diogo Jota got the goals. Rui Jorge’s men scored two of their three goals from headers, with the other coming from the spot.
SUCCESS AGAINST ENGLAND: Nadiem Amiri scored against England last Friday on his sixth appearance for the U21s. His last strike had come almost two years ago in the 6-0 victory for the U19s over the Czech Republic.
Gideon Jung, Marc-Oliver Kempf and Thilo Kehrer made their debuts for the U21s against England. Odisseas Vlachodimos is the only player in the squad who is yet to make an appearance.
PERSONNEL: Stefan Kuntz will have to do without Mitchell Weiser and Julian Pollersbeck against Portugal. Pollersbeck has withdrawn himself due to personal reasons, while Weiser picked up a muscle injury against England and is therefore not available.
