The German U21 national team remains unbeaten in the European Championship qualification in the tenth and final game. Despite a two-goal lead, it’s not enough to win in Poland.
The German U21 national team finished the European Championship qualification undefeated – and made their coach Antonio Di Salvo proud. “It was definitely a test of character for the team,” said Di Salvo at ProSieben Maxx. And his players passed it: “You have to beat us first,” added the coach.
The German team won 3:3 (3:1) in Lodz against their strongest group opponent Poland and completed the qualification with an impressive record of eight wins and two draws in ten games. Reaching the European Championship finals from June 11th to 28th, 2025 in Slovakia as group winners had already been confirmed. “We’ll be competing against the best of the best, and we’re really looking forward to that,” said defender and goalscorer Bright Arrey-Mbi.
Hanover’s Nicolo Tresoldi (3rd minute), Heidenheim’s Paul Wanner (21st) and Arrey-Mbi from Sporting Braga (30th) scored the goals for the selection of the German Football Association. In front of around 12,000 spectators, Poland scored goals from Dominik Marczuk (17th), Jakub Kaluzinski (50th) and Mariusz Fornalczyk (59th).
Dream start by Tresoldi
Di Salvo made a total of six changes to the starting eleven. Maximilian Beier and Nick Woltemade, who made a significant contribution to early qualification for the European Championship with their goals in the 2-1 win against Bulgaria, were ruled out due to illness. Defender Max Rosenfelder was unable to take part due to back problems.
But the personnel and tactical changes did not affect the flow of the German team’s game. Tresoldi got the game off to a perfect start with his early 1-0 win after fine preparatory work from left-back Tom Rothe. The equalizer in the meantime, in which Rothe lost sight of the Polish goalscorer Marczuk in the backcourt, did not shock the DFB selection.
Wanner shows why everyone wants him
Wanner quickly regained the lead – and how! After a pass from Brajan Gruda, who was strong at dribbling, the offensive player from Heidenheim volleyed the ball into the corner of the goal. The Austrian-born Wanner has not yet decided which A team he wants to play for in the future. The associations from Germany and Austria are advertising for the shooting star.
Germany stayed in control and gained a two-goal lead thanks to a precise header from Arrey-Mbi from a corner from Rocco Reitz. The loss of Dortmund’s Karim Adeymi, who was so accurate in September with five goals in two games and is currently injured, was hardly significant.
The Poles, who would have definitely had a ticket to the European Championship if they had won as one of the best runners-up in the group, increased the pressure in the second half and equalized through Kaluzinski and Fornalczyk. In the final phase, defender Jan Thielmann saved the draw for Germany on the line.
Source: Stern
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