The German U21 national team began their 2019 European Championship qualifying campaign with a win. The team, coached by Stefan Kuntz, beat Kosovo 1-0 in their first competitive game since winning the European Championship in the summer. Werder Bremen’s Maximilian Eggestein scored the only goal of the day shortly before half time for the DFB team, in front of 5331 spectators in Osnabrück.
“Considering that this was the first time they played together, the guys did well. For the first time, we were very happy with the performance,” said Kuntz after the game. He also saw a lot of potential for improvements: “On occasions we didn’t play quick enough, and missed a few chances.”
Last Friday, Germany lost 1-2 to Hungary in Paderborn – during which Maximilian’s younger brother, Johannes Eggestein, scored. In their first encounter with new UEFA member Kosovo, Germany were on top from the start and ausbauen. For Germany’s U21s, it was the 15th win in a row, with the side remaining unbeaten in 35 qualifiers, a run stretching back to September 2010. Their last defeat came on 11th August 2010 when they lost 1-4 to Iceland.
Kuntz made four changes to his starting XI
Kuntz made four changes to his starting lineup following the Hungary game. In central defence, Timo Baumgartl came in for injured captain Jonathan Tah, while Jannes Horn replaced Lukas Klünter. In attack, Kuntz put his faith in Marcel Hartel this time (in place of Tim Skarke), and the sole goalscorer from Friday’s game Johannes Eggestein was replaced by Luca Waldschmidt. Thilo Kehrer took on the captaincy in defensive midfield, where he looked to control the game along with Maximilian Eggestein.
Germany dominated the game from kick off, playing with intent and moving the ball around well, although they often could not make progress into the opposition penalty area.
Eggestein rewards Germany’s attacking intent
In the run-up to the game, Kuntz had already announced that Kosovo would look to play on the counter-attack, and he was not wrong. The German defence stood strong however, and hardly gave the opposition a look-in. Just before the half time whistle, the hosts were rewarded for dominating the game. The ball came to Maximilian Eggestein on the edge of the box; he spun round and fired in the first goal of the game.
In the second half, Germany kept Kosova penned in their own half; and consequently plenty of chances came their way, although they could not add to their lead.
Captain Kehrer: “Still lots of work to be done”
After putting in a good performance in his first match as captain, Kehrer gave his thoughts on the game, “We did lots of good things today. We just didn’t quite play at the right tempo. That will come with time. Our level of play is quite good, and we have a lot of potential. But we also know, that there will be plenty of tough games along the way to qualification, so we still have a lot of work to do.”
The next game for this Germany side is on 6th October in Cottbus against Azerbaijan, after which they face Norway on the 10th. Then on 9th November they play Azerbaijan away, followed by Israel on the 14th. Their last opponents in Group 5 are Ireland. The nine group winners will qualify automatically, while the four second placed teams with the most points go into a playoff.
[mmc/be]
The German U21 national team began their 2019 European Championship qualifying campaign with a win. The team, coached by Stefan Kuntz, beat Kosovo 1-0 in their first competitive game since winning the European Championship in the summer. Werder Bremen’s Maximilian Eggestein scored the only goal of the day shortly before half time for the DFB team, in front of 5331 spectators in Osnabrück.
“Considering that this was the first time they played together, the guys did well. For the first time, we were very happy with the performance,” said Kuntz after the game. He also saw a lot of potential for improvements: “On occasions we didn’t play quick enough, and missed a few chances.”
Last Friday, Germany lost 1-2 to Hungary in Paderborn – during which Maximilian’s younger brother, Johannes Eggestein, scored. In their first encounter with new UEFA member Kosovo, Germany were on top from the start and ausbauen. For Germany’s U21s, it was the 15th win in a row, with the side remaining unbeaten in 35 qualifiers, a run stretching back to September 2010. Their last defeat came on 11th August 2010 when they lost 1-4 to Iceland.
Kuntz made four changes to his starting XI
Kuntz made four changes to his starting lineup following the Hungary game. In central defence, Timo Baumgartl came in for injured captain Jonathan Tah, while Jannes Horn replaced Lukas Klünter. In attack, Kuntz put his faith in Marcel Hartel this time (in place of Tim Skarke), and the sole goalscorer from Friday’s game Johannes Eggestein was replaced by Luca Waldschmidt. Thilo Kehrer took on the captaincy in defensive midfield, where he looked to control the game along with Maximilian Eggestein.
Germany dominated the game from kick off, playing with intent and moving the ball around well, although they often could not make progress into the opposition penalty area.
Eggestein rewards Germany’s attacking intent
In the run-up to the game, Kuntz had already announced that Kosovo would look to play on the counter-attack, and he was not wrong. The German defence stood strong however, and hardly gave the opposition a look-in. Just before the half time whistle, the hosts were rewarded for dominating the game. The ball came to Maximilian Eggestein on the edge of the box; he spun round and fired in the first goal of the game.
In the second half, Germany kept Kosova penned in their own half; and consequently plenty of chances came their way, although they could not add to their lead.
Captain Kehrer: “Still lots of work to be done”
After putting in a good performance in his first match as captain, Kehrer gave his thoughts on the game, “We did lots of good things today. We just didn’t quite play at the right tempo. That will come with time. Our level of play is quite good, and we have a lot of potential. But we also know, that there will be plenty of tough games along the way to qualification, so we still have a lot of work to do.”
The next game for this Germany side is on 6th October in Cottbus against Azerbaijan, after which they face Norway on the 10th. Then on 9th November they play Azerbaijan away, followed by Israel on the 14th. Their last opponents in Group 5 are Ireland. The nine group winners will qualify automatically, while the four second placed teams with the most points go into a playoff.
