Germany's Under 21 has celebrated their first win under new coach Rainer Adrion and finished third at the Lobanovskiy Memorial in Ukraine. In Borodjanka it was Änis Ben-Hatira of Bundesliga side Hamburger SV, who scored the decisive goal three minutes from time to secure the 1-0 win against Iran.
After losing the semifinal in Adrion's debut against Turkey (1-3) one day earlier, the DFB coach fielded a completely different German side, including debutants Sven Ulreich and Roman Neustädter.
After controlling the match for most of the first half, Turkish referee Tolga showed the Red Card to goalkeeper Ulreich after 44 minutes for a professional foul, conceding a penalty to the Iranians thereafter. But Mohamad sent the ball over the crossbar.
[DFB.de]
Here are highlights of the 2009 UEFA European Under-21 Championship Final earlier today, which Germany won 4-0. The commentary is in German.
The match report can be found here.
Two goals by Sandro Wagner and a stellar performance from Mesut Özil inspired Germany to a 4-0 win over England in the Euro Under-21 championship final on Monday.
England began strongly but the Germans grabbed the opening goal in the 23rd minute when Ozil provided Gonzalo Castro with a delicate pass and he chipped the ball above replacement keeper Scott Loach.
The highly promising Ozil made it 2-0 three minutes into the second half with an stunning free kick from over 30 yards. England, coming off a thrilling shootout win over Sweden in the semis, had several chances to reduce the deficit, Lee Cattermole nearly finding the target with a fine long shot which hit the crossbar in the 58th minute.
Winger Adam Johnson ran on to a ball by James Milner and almost flicked the ball into the net with his heel but defender Andreas Beck stopped it on the goal line. Wagner missed an open goal after he failed to get full contact on another fine ball from Ozil in the 79th minute, but he soon made up for his mistake by shooting through keeper Scott Loach's legs. Four minutes later he curled the ball past Loach for his second goal of the night.
More pictures from the game:
[DFB.de]
Image: DFB
On Monday, Germany face England in the 2009 UEFA European Under-21 Championship final in Malmö. The classic match will be the second encounter of both teams during the tournament after drawing 1-1 in their final group match.
In 1982, the two old rivals also met in the final of the European Championship. After losing the first leg 1-3, Germany won the second leg after three goals by Pierre Littbarski 3-2. But that was not enough to gain the trophy and thus the "Three Lions" took the cup.
Nevertheless, German coach Horst Hrubesch and his squad are optimistic after growing in the course of the tournament. "We know that it will be a different match. England have a great team which they showed in the semifinal against host Sweden. But we want to accentuate our strengths and win the final", Andreas Beck says who scored the decisive goal in the semifinal against Italy.
Since 2007, Stuart Pearce is headcoach of the English Under 21. During the World Cup in 1990 when Germany later won the title, Pearce missed a penalty in the semifinal.
His team also missed the final at the last European Under 21 Championship in 2007 after loosing to host Netherlands in the semifinal after penalty shootout 12-13.
[DFB.de]
Germany will play England in the final of the European Under-21 Championship after a stunning goal by Andreas Beck earned a 1-0 win over Italy in the second semi-final in Helsingborg.
The Italians dominated the match but Beck scored the all-important goal three minutes after half-time when he ran in from the right wing and unleashed a shot which swerved beyond the keeper's grasp.
Manuel Neuer had been the main reason Italy were not ahead at half-time after making a number of crucial saves.
The German goalkeeper beat out a shot from Sebastian Giovinco which was going high into the net before knocking a header on to his defender on the line who then cleared.
Marco Motta hit the crossbar before well-placed defender Mesut Ozil cleared off the line from the near post as Italy dominated with forward Mario Balotelli influential, but the interval arrived goalless.
The game was then turned on its head in the 48th minute when Beck shocked the Italians with his fantastic strike.
Balotelli almost equalised minutes later when his powerful free-kick flashed wide and the same player had another effort pushed out by Neuer.
Marco Andreolli put a header inches wide and Neuer produced an improvised save when he kicked Balotelli's powerful shot away with his right foot.
"Today we had a great goalie Manuel Neuer and a bit luck. Manuel is an outstanding keeper", coach Horst Hrubesch said: "Now we want the title."
The only sour note for Germany is that Ashkan Dejagah will be suspended for the Malmo showpiece after being booked here.
[Soccernet & DFB.de]
Germany is still on track at the UEFA European Under-21 Championship with a 2-0 over Finland, who have to bury their ambitions to reach the next round. The Germans now have a total of four points in Group B after a goalless draw in the first game against Spain. Bernd Höwedes (58th) and Ashkan Dejagah (61th) swung the game in Germany's favour in the second half.
After Finland held a slight edge in the first half of the game, coach Horst Hrubesch changed the lineup, and inserted Patrick Ebert and Änis Ben-Hatira. But it was was Werder Bremen's Mesut Özil, who made the most impact, as he teed up the goals for Höwedes and Dejagah. Finland found no way back into the game. So Markku Kanerva's side will go into their final game against Spain with only pride at stake. For Germany, who meet England, a semi-final place is in the offing.
In the second game of Group B, England defeated Spain 2-0 and has thus already qualified for the semi-finals. Germany needs at least one point in their last group encounter against England on Monday (20.45 CEST).
Spain and Germany drew a blank in their first game in UEFA European Under-21 Championship Group B with neither side able to make the breakthrough in Gothenburg.
With senior coach Joachim Löw looking on the team the German Youngsters were dominating their opponents but it was not enough to find a way through a Spain side who next play England in Gothenburg on Thursday.
Germany, who face Finland in Halmstad the same day, might have won it when Özil raced through in the final ten minutes but again the alert Keeper Asenjo was equal to the task, ensuring both teams would have to settle for a point.
"We played much too passive at the beginning of the first half, which you cannot do against a team of this caliber. There was visible improvement in the second half. We did not convert our chances. Overall, I am satisfied with our performance", said German coach Horst Hrubesch following the game.
Team captain Sami Khedira of VfB Stuttgart added: "That was a game we could have won. We controlled the pace and the opponent and had major scoring opportunities. I feel confident that we will win the next opponents and qualify for the semifinal".
[DFB.de]
The German under 17 national team defeats the Netherlands 2-1 (1-1, 1-1) in extra-time and clinches the title in the European championships. The team coached by Marco Pezzaiouli won the European title in front of 22,000 fans in Magdeburg. Florian Trinks scored the decisive goal on a spectacular free kick, when he hit the triangle from 25 meters out.
Both teams needed but minutes to find their groove. In front of a record-crowd, which included DFB-President Dr. Theo Zwanziger, General Secretary Wolfgang Niersbach, Women’s World Cup LOC-President Steffi Jones and German coach Joachim Löw, the guests took the early lead. Capitalising on their very first opportunity, Isoufi Shabir passed the ball to Luc Castaignos, who scored from short distance.
Lennart Thy tied the game, when Kevin Scheidhauer’s header bounced back from the crossbar, and Thy pushed the ball over the line.
“They had the better beginning, but because of our effort before halftime, we deserved the tied score at that point. It’s a great game, with both teams very focused”, said Dr. Theo Zwanziger during the break.
Germany took the command early in the second half, yet without being able to create scoring opportunities. Dutch goalkeeper Jan ter Mate then parried a header by Robert Labus, then blocked a shot by Götze. An hour was played, when only Dutch player Stefan De Vrij prevented Götze from giving Germany the lead.
During extended time, Germany won their second major juniors title since 2008, when Horst Hrubesch had led the U-19 to the European championship. On Monday, all it took was a perfect shot by Florian Trinks.
More pictures:
[DFB.de]
