For the fourth consecutive international break Get German Football News is pleased to supply an in-depth look at the goings-on at Antonio Di Salvo’s Germany U21 squad. Things could have hardly gone better for the youngsters representing Germany at the highest youth level this time around. Two clean sheets in 2027 UEFA U21 European Championship qualification matches enabled Di Salvo’s Juniors to climb to the top of the table in their qualifying group.
As we did back during the three autumn international beaks, we’ll first supply brief synopses of the two matches. It’s then off to the “winners” from this particular break. In this case, there are quite a few. Eight footballers – naturally looking ahead to the coming World Cup – caught plenty of eyes and surely turned a few heads in the two wins. As is customary, we’ll conclude with a look at Di Salvo’s tactics; by far his boldest yet since taking over the Germany U21 program.
The win in Braunschweig
Germany 3, Northern Ireland 0
A team featuring five changes from the one Di Salvo last deployed in November compensated for the promotion of Lennart Karl by moving Brajan Gruda into the right slant in Di Salvo’s 4-3-3. Borussia Mönchengladbach’s Lukas Ullrich and Hertha BSC’s Linus Gechter also took over the fullback roles. Mio Backhaus returned in goal whilst Anton Kade was preferred to his Augsburg teammate Mert Kömür.
A dominant opening 10 minutes from the DFB XI ultimately produced a deserved lead when Northern Ireland goalkeeper Fraser Barnsley felled Nicolo Tresoldi in the penalty box. Tresoldi converted from the spot himself to give the German hosts an 11th-minute 1-0 lead. A long lull followed the opening goal. Backhaus had to bail the team out in a pair of set-piece situations.
Just before the half, Gruda, Ullrich, and Tresoldi broke the torpor with a very nice three-man combo. Ullrich flicked on a Gruda cross in the 41st. Tresoldi headed home the 2-0. Despite the fact that the Germans produced plenty of nice chances in the second 45, there wouldn’t be another goal scored until the very end. Weiper toed a ball over the line after an Ullrich set up.
The win in Athens
Germany 2, Greece 0
Di Salvo made only one change to his previous XI in the second match. Kömür – who had played a magnificent second half in Braunschweig – filled in for the injured Gruda. Once again, the DFB Juniors took the lead in the 11th-minute. This time, El Mala fired home a beautiful effort off the turn off a corner. The two top-of-the-table sides then traded plenty of swipes over the course of a very engaging and entertaining affair.
Kömür and El Mala came closest to doubling the advantage for the German guests. The Greek hosts had more than enough opportunities to score an equalizer. Both keepers nevertheless ensured that the scoreline remained low. Germany’s second goal finally came off another dead ball. Kade headed home a ball that found its way to him off a Tom Bischof set piece in the 73rd-minute.
The Greek U21s didn’t give up after Kade made it 2-0. Backhaus made a pair of brilliant saves. Germany very nearly attained another 3-0 victory via another goal from a substitute in the 90th-minute. Arijon Ibrahimovic unfortunately wasn’t as lucky as compatriot Weiper. Greek keeper Nikolaos Botis capped a spectacular evening with yet another stellar parry.
Germany U21 “March Winners”
Nicolo Tresoldi, Club Brugge
The talk about Tresoldi has been stirring in German footballing circles for quite some time. These days, plenty outside the German footballing bubble know the name. A few short weeks ago, rumors began to surface that the 21-year-old had opted to give up on his dream of representing Germany at senior level and play for his native Italy. The Cagliari native has been flirting with the Italian FA since October. For now, it appears as if Di Salvo (his fellow German Italian) has convinced him to stay. Denizens of the Bundesrepublik may soon find themselves very grateful.
Stories about in the German press regarding Tresoldi’s World Cup chances. Reporters pummeled the 21-year-old with questions about his summer plans after Friday night’s match. The beaming youngster assured journalists in the mixed zone that he hadn’t booked a summer vacation yet. That’s wise of him. The current incarnation of the German national team needs a reliable No. 9. Tresoldi entered the international break having struck seven times in seven league fixtures for his club. He just needs to keep it up.
One hazards a guess that he can.
Said El Mala, 1. FC Köln
The author isn’t entirely sure what to add about the player he’s already written so much about. Articles produced for this website alone literally approach 60 pieces in total. Just as he did during the November international break, the 19-year-old phenom with senior team aspirations handled his U21 tour of duty with class. All of this talk of him needing to mature personally doesn’t really jive with the manner in which El Mala handles himself. Lukas Kwasniok’s overly protective posturing over him never made any sense.
El Mala sparkled over this break and could have easily added more goals to his dream strike against Greece. For the most part, the Krefeld-native remained active and lively throughout both his starting deployments. He definitely could have scored a hat trick in the second match. It was both poignant and touching to learn that El Mala dedicated his world class performance against Greece to his recently deceased grandmother. Di Salvo’s words on how the team supported the teenager were also stirring. It was certainly a welcome relief from Kwasniok’s rants.
Mert Kömür, FC Augsburg
Having been raving about this young talent for well over a year, the author is most pleased to have watched Kömür turn in a marvelous international break. The fact that he evokes comparisons to Florian Wirtz is no coincidence. Augsburg’s homegrown talent possesses a lot of natural intelligence. It shines through in how creative his improvisational play can be. He really does well at just about any position on the second or third axes, including the false No. 9 role.
Previous FCA trainer Sandro Wagner placed him under far too much pressure early this season by asking him to work as a lone center forward. As a result, he’s hit a few speed bumps with respect to his club form. One should still emphasize that Kömür has proven that he can still thrive in a two-striker-set. Plenty of clubs around Europe have taken notice. That’s why they’re willing to pay top dollar for him.
Anton Kade, FC Augsburg
Kömür’s FCA teammate has actually enjoyed a strikingly successful debut Bundesliga campaign, netting three top flight goals and registering one assist for the Fuggerstädter. Thus far, he hasn’t really been able to distinguish himself with the U21s. That’s certainly changed now. The former U20 standout has officially arrived at this level. He put in some real quality work in three separate tactical assignments on the right here.
At club level, Kade has already proven that he can work as a lead striker too. Kade’s work on the right in these two fixtures remained quite easy on the eyes. One can hardly wait to see him back in action for Manuel Baum’s Bavarian Swabians. Kade’s interesting path back to his native land clearly helped him learn a thing or two whilst developing in Switzerland. He’s an interesting one to watch.
Aljoscha Kemlein, 1. FC Union Berlin
This 21-year-old always served as an underrated player. Kemlein was selected to be the first player to don the captain’s armband following Eric Martel’s U21 retirement. Far too few have noticed his stellar work in Köpenick this season, in large part due to the fact that he does a quiet job for a team quietly cruising to a mid table finish. The native Berliner continues to demonstrate that serious ass-busting spirit he learned working his way up from the amateur ranks.
Kemlein has filled a variety of tactical roles for Steffen Baumgart’s FCU this year and looked solid pinning together the back ranks in different ways here. If there’s one critique of the youngster’s game, one would like to see him venture forward a tad more often. He’s not the biggest coverer of ground when it comes to his Germany deployments. At Union, he’s much more adept to rack up the kilometers.
Tom Bischof, FC Bayern München
The other, older, and now less famous half of the “Aschaffenburg Twin” duo was (glibly stated) damned fantastic on every level during this break. Just like Tresoldi, Bischof had to entertain questions as to whether or not he booked a summer holiday or preferred to wait for a World Cup call up. This 20-year-old finds himself the horribly unfortunate victim of the midfield logjam at both Bayern and the German national team.
With Angelo Stiller having largely botched his audition, it’s still possible that Nagelsmann might find room for Bischof on the WM roster. Dare the author also point out that Vincent Kompany has tried Bischof out as a right back to some success? The Aschaffenburg-native can play on the left as well as the right! Alas, some opinions simply don’t count. The Bundestrainer has his own thought process.
Lukas Ullrich, Borussia Mönchengladbach
Some year this has been for this 22-year-old! From the butt of one of the Bundesliga’s longest running jokes to one of the most effective Bundesliga starters in the business! Ullrich appears to have been much buoyed by the fact that Luca Netz is no longer around. Netz’s fellow Berliner and BMG veteran played like a man possessed in the two fixtures, fully earning his two assists in the first match and being most unlucky to not register on the scoresheet in the second.
We should be hearing more from him soon.
Mio Backhaus, SV Werder Bremen
It doesn’t get much better than two clean sheets in two matches. Unlike the senior men’s national team keepers, Backhaus also had to work hard to earn the German “Weiße Veste”. The 21-year-old did more than produce monster reflex saves. He snuffed out plenty of promising opportunities by claiming crosses and punching out corners. Thanks to the fact that Dennis Seimen fell ill on short notice, Backhaus got more of an audition than he anticipated.
Excellent stuff from
Tactical Documentation
Di Salvo’s “Post Euro Reset” has seen him cycle through just about every constellation until he settled on a 4-3-3 in November. The latest edition sticks to the basic blueprint on the top two axes whilst taking advantage of the tactical versatility of players such as Aljoshscha Kemlein, Anton Kade, and Tom Bischof. There was plenty of improvisation from those three actors in the opening half against Northern Ireland. A great deal of the attacking traffic came up the right.
Lineup—DFB (Friday)
No one could be accused of being complacent after Tresoldi scored the opening goal. The Northern Irish deployed a very deep block. Picking the lock proved very difficult. Bischof came closest to making things happen with his quality deliveries off set pieces. The guests weren’t bad off of set-plays either, twice testing Backhaus with their dead ball designs. Ullrich, Gruda, and Tresoldi’s 2-0 combination in the 41st enabled Di Salvo’s crew to take a flattering lead into the tunnel.
Gruda made way for Kömür at the half and what we initially saw looked to be a sufficiently clever tactical ploy from the U21 trainer. Bischof swapped places with Kemlein, who dropped down to sweeper level in order to be more effective initiating counters. Bischof himself and Kade worked a very subtle split-stagger potentially designed to help the Augsburg teammates make the most of the right. It worked well at first.
Lineup—DFB (46th minute)
Both El Mala and Kömür produced quality chances before five minutes of the second half had been played. The German rearward ranks, however, weren’t particularly well sorted. One liked the manner in which Di Salvo moved the fullbacks up, but the additional risk led to several passing errors out of the back. This was rectified via a double substitution in the 62nd that saw exciting prospects Mika Baur of Paderborn and Karim Coulibaly of Bremen make their U21 debuts.
Fresh legs and more settled tactical discipline enabled the DFB Juniors to stabilize while pushing forward for the decisive goal more cautiously and cleanly. The opponents were slowly worn down and – as full-time approached – resigned to their fate. When Wolfsburg’s Dzenan Pejcinovic relieved El Mala in the 73rd, one observed a semi-two-striker-set. Mainz’s Nelson Weiper (on for Tresoldi literally five minutes prior) poached the 3-0.
Gruda’s continued struggles with injury led to Kömür starting in the Brighton loanee’s place. This would end up being the only change between the first and second match. Di Salvo still mixed things up a bit by moving Kömür back and letting Augsburg colleague Kade take over his position. Bischof flipped over to the right and Kemlein worked father upfield. The re-formatted constellation mostly did its job against a very good Greek team.
Lineup—DFB (Tuesday)
Both sides rolled off some vicious counters – only halted by tactical fouls – in the opening ten minutes. Some more strident refereeing could have led to goals. The German guests got some things going on both Kade and Kömür’s flanks. A corner earned by Kade in the 10th directly led to El Mala scoring his “dream goal” in the 11th. Di Salvo’s underdogs laid off after taking an early lead against the group leaders.
The next German shot on target wouldn’t come until Kömür stung the Greek keeper’s palms in the 43rd. Solid marking from the DFB-XI ensured that the optically superior hosts nevertheless didn’t really come close to securing an equalizer. Once the second 45 got rolling a mistake from Bochum’s Leandro Morgalla (on for Gechter at the half) gave the Greeks their best shot at restoring parity in the 53rd.
Shortly after that, El Mala and Bischof both found themselves denied by strong arm of Greek keeper Botis. El Mala (with chances in the 55th and 61st) could have easily completed a hat trick. At the other end, Backhaus kept out the 1-1 with an amazing save in the 71st. Two minutes later, Bischof’s superb free kick (converted by Kade) meant the match swung inexorably the other way.
As covered above, Tresoldi and Ibrahimovic can count themselves unlucky not to have scored the 3-0 while Backhaus excelled in making certain the Greeks had no way back into the match. One felt really great watching the DFB representatives in action here. Excitement over the future of German football – as was also the case in November – came from the actors at the country’s highest youth level.
It’s always more fun to peer ahead!
