The Germany U21 national side are well-placed for the semi-finals at the European Championships in Czech Republic, led by an impressive Kevin Volland. DFB Team triumphed 3-0 in Prague courtesy of a brace from the TSG Hoffenheim forward and now top group A with four points on the board. A draw against hosts Czech Republic in their final group game on Tuesday (20:45 CEST) will suffice to progress to the final four of the competition and subsequently qualify for the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio for the first time since 1988.
After a dogged opening period, Volland, who has already made three appearances for Joachim Löw’s senior side, got Germany on track just after the half-hour mark. The 22-year-old then doubled his side’s lead directly from a free kick, before World Cup winner Matthias Ginter netted the final goal via his head soon after. Behind Germany, Czech Republic, Denmark (3 points each) and Serbia (1 point) still have a shot of making the semi-finals though.
DFB head coach Horst Hrubesch made four changes compared to the draw to Serbia in the opening group game. In place of Robin Knoche, Moritz Leitner, Philipp Hofmann and the suspended Christian Günter, came Dominique Heintz, Nico Schulz, Joshua Kimmich and Leonardo Bittencourt. Volland also returned to the centre-forward position from the wing – and this move paid dividends.
U21s gradually get into the game
After a cagey opening, the Danes with Bundesliga player Jannik Vestergaard (Werder Bremen) and second-tier player Yussuf Poulsen (RB Leipzig) seized the initiative in front of 13,268 spectators and caused problems for the German defence with a couple of pacey attacks. A shot from distance from Pione Sisto early on did not travel ter Stegen though, with the Champions League winner thankful six minutes later that Poulsen fired wide from a narrow angle. Shortly before that, Bittencourt produced Germany’s first shot, shooting wide from a quick pass.
As was the case against Serbia, Germany U21s grew into the game more and more, opting for high balls to begin with. The Danes, who had to make do without the crocked Pierre Emile Hojbjerg (Bayern München), stood compact at the back, as the German team did, resulting in the majority of the game being played between both boxes. Amin Younes’ long shot proved just that, causing trouble for the Danish keeper as it flied just half a metre wide of the goal.
Volland and Younes cause a furore
The 2009 European Champions upped the pressure thereafter and set up camp around the Denmark penalty area. Crosses from either side were an easy task for the large Danish centre-backs to start with. Germany were dangerous when playing the ball on the deck though, as Volland demonstrated, latching onto a brilliant through-ball from Emre Can, before dispatching the ball under the oncoming keeper Jakob Busk to deservedly put Germany ahead. Hrubesch’s side then began to dictate the game, with the 1-0 lead as a safety net. Younes almost increased their advantage just before the break from a Volland pass, but his effort went agonisingly wide.
They made up for this after the break. It was first Volland, who had been involved in almost all promising moves for Germany, who expertly converted from around 23 metres out, before Ginter netted from close range after superb work from Younes.
There was barely any further attacking spark for the Danes, rather Germany drew ever closer to a fourth goal. Max Meyer could only find the side-netting after Younes had set him up again. Volland then passed up the opportunity of a hat-trick, with Busk saving from four metres out. Johannes Geis, Serge Gnabry and Felix Klaus also made brief appearances in the closing stages. However, the game has been wrapped up for a long time.
