U21 EUROs: Amiri helps Germany reach semis

In a hard-fought game against Austria at the U21 Euros in Italy and San Marino, which ended 1-1, the Germany U21s achieved two goals: Stefan Kuntz's charges booked their place in the semi-finals and simultaneously qualified for the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo.

The Group B battle for a berth in the final four of the competition involved three TSG Hoffenheim players: Nadiem Amiri, who came off the bench for Germany in the 56th minute with the score at 1-1, plus Austrian duo Stefan Posch and Christoph Baumgartner. The former played the full 90 minutes at the heart of defence, while the latter came on after 54 minutes. The game ultimately ended in stalemate, with Luca Waldschmidt putting the DFB XI ahead after 14 minutes before Kevin Danso equalised from the spot for Austria 10 minutes later.

"Unfortunately it wasn't enough, but it was still a good performance," said Baumgartner at the end. The Austrians could have leapfrogged Germany into top spot with a win, but ultimately it is Kuntz's charges who qualified for the semi-finals as group winners and kept alive their hopes of defending the title.

"Austria were the better team today, they made life really difficult for us. It was only after a tactical tweak in the defensive midfield area that we got the game under better control. Overall, I'm very satisfied with the way the tournament has gone so far," said Germany boss Stefan Kuntz. Amiri almost made it 2-1 with a wonderful solo effort shortly after coming on, but his shot sailed narrowly wide of the upright.

England and Nelson to face Romania

Germany are joined in the semi-final by Group A winners Spain, with the other two participants to be determined tonight when the final games in Group C are played. An England side containing Reiss Nelson will take on Romania at 21:00 CET, but – unlike their opponents and France – the Three Lions have no chance of progression. The semi-finals will be played on Thursday.

 

The U21 Euro matches involving TSG players at a glance:

Nadiem Amiri – Germany U21s

Monday 17 June, U21 Euro, 21;00: Germany U21s 3-1 Denmark U21s

Thursday 20 June, U21 Euro, 21:00: Germany U21s 6-1 Serbia U21s

Sunday 23 June, U21 Euro, 21:00: Austria U21s 1-1 Germany U21s

 

Stefan Posch and Christoph Baumgartner – Austria U21s

Monday 17 June, U21 Euro, 18:30: Serbia U21s 0-2 Austria U21s

Thursday 20 June, U21 Euro, 18:30: Denmark U21s 3-1 Austria U21s

Sunday 23 June, U21 Euro, 21:00: Austria U21s 1-1 Germany U21s

 

Reiss Nelson – England U21s

Tuesday 18 June, U21 Euro, 18:30: England U21s 1-2 France U21s

Friday 21 June, U21 Euro, 18:30: England U21s vs. Romania U21s

Monday 24 June, U21 Euro, 21:00: Croatia U21s vs. England U21s