U21: DFB junior brings against Serbia only draw – STERN

In the hunt for the Olympic ticket Germany’s youth football has avoided only with difficulty a false start. To kick off the European U21 Championship was the DFB team before 5490 spectators in Prague only a meager 1: 1 (1: 1) against Serbia and is in the second preliminary round Group A match on Saturday against leaders Denmark, the host of the Czech Republic with 2: 1 defeated, already under pressure.

Emre Can preserved the team coached by Horst Hrubesch, who finished the game by a field reference for Christian Günther (69) to tithe, with his goal in the 17 minutes of an impending opening defeat. Filip Duricic (8) had brought Serbia into an early lead. “We need to better occur in the next Games. There must be an increase here,” said Can scorer. “I do not know where our looseness was blown.”

Fast settled Can

Also Hrubesch was unimpressed: “We have come hard in the courses I have warned. that is given to us nothing. Now everyone knows what is needed here. ” After all, he was his team attest an increase after the break. “Congratulations to the guys as they come back.”

Before the kick-off to put the coach who had last time out, the U21 Six years ago the European title on Marc-André ter Stegen as number one for the tournament determined. The goalkeeper of the Spanish triple winners FC Barcelona, ​​which was preferred to the Leverkusen Bernd Leno, as the whole team caught cold at the first attack of the Serbs. The former Mainz Duricic chipped Robin Knoche and overcame Ter Stegen from a central position.

However, the shock of the early goal did not last long, because Can succeeded with a fine individual performance of fast compensation. The England-legionnaire from Liverpool beat in the penalty area an elegant hook and finished with a neat right-footed shot into the far corner.

Hardly combination football

However, the DFB junior ran along little. Offensively lacked constructive ideas of combination football was hard to see anything. Again and again the Hrubesch protégés went firmly into the Serb coverage and thus in one or another counterattack. So just before the half hour when BVB midfielder Milo? Jojic again Knoche was a disadvantage, from a tight angle but almost pulled.

Just before the break kept ter Stegen, the German team in front of a new residue, when he drew a 25-yard blast from Goran Causic with your fingertips on the underside of the crossbar from where jumped back the ball into the box .

Hrubesch responded to the Maue idea that does not crack even DFB sporting director Hansi Flick in the stands from the seat, and brought with restarting the New Bayern Joshua Kimmich for Moritz Leitner.

But the German team did continue hard and allowed the opponents by turnovers again fast counter-attacks. Jojic considered ter Stegen with a long-range effort (56). Only now and then flashed sometimes on the assets of the DFB team. Philipp Hofmann (58th) missed with a header the lead. As Freiburg Günther sent off because of a swallow with a second yellow card, the air was out finally.