The Germany U19s national team begun their second qualification round for the European Championship in Georgia (2-15th July 2017) with a last-minute winner against Cyprus (2-1). BVB’s Etienne Amenyido put Frank Kramer’s side in front within three minutes at the Stadion am Sommerdamm in Rüsselsheim am Main. Nikolas Matthaiou equalised for Cyprus in the 16th minute, but Germany were rewarded for their persistence when Amenyido grabbed the winning goal in the third minute of injury time.
Germany’s next opponent’s are Serbia on Saturday from 11:00 CET at the Sportpark Kelsterbach, before Slovakia come to the Volksbank Stadion in Frankfurt on Tuesday (17:00 CEST).
Amenyido scores brace as Germany grind out win
After a strong start and an early goal from Amenyido, Germany lost control of the match in front of 1,102 spectators. Challenges were lost in the midfield and the pressing was off key. The equaliser came about from nothing, however, with the Cypriots rarely causing any danger in the Germany half until the 16th minute and then again with a dangerous free kick from Soteris Fiakas in the 31st minute.
Injury-time winner
Germany pushed to regain the lead once again after the break, with captain Felix Passlack from BVB (51’) and Eintracht Frankfurt’s Aymen Barkok both coming close. In the final stages, the home side threw everything forward and were eventually rewarded when Amenyido struck the winning goal in the dying stages of the match.
Only the group winner of the four-team tournament qualifies for the summer’s European Championship. Frank Kramer had words of caution for his side in the build-up to the qualifiers: “We absolutely cannot underestimate our opponents, even if they aren’t big names, because they have all impressed to get this far.”