While Julian Nagelsmann’s Germany squad didn’t have much to offer fans in the Nations League Finals, the U-21 squad is in Slovakia for the U-21 EUROs to defend their title. With some familiar faces, the German team put up a strong performance to earn their first win of the tournament.
Nick Woltemade’s confidence is not shaken
Woltemade is back. Three goals in his first match back with the U-21s. The DFB Pokal winner proved again why he is Germany’s top young striker. Despite his missteps as the senior level, no one can doubt his ceiling as a top striker. A golden boot at this tournament would give great indication to Julian Nagelsmann going forward.
Noah Atubolu could star for Germany at the World Cup
Marc-André ter Stegen was solid for Germany in his last two appearances, yet not perfect. A lot can change in a year though, and if the FC Barcelona goalkeeper shows signs of regression, there will be a real argument for Atubolu or Jonas Urbig to step up. Atubolu was not tested often, but came up big on some serious chances for Slovenia.
One-trick pony?
Despite a number of early chances for the Germans, things did not click in the second half. Manager Antonio Di Salvo made some changes to try and adjust, but none of the subs had any major impact. Side note, is it troubling for Bayern Munich fans that Paul Wanner wasn’t subbed on until the 85th minute?
What did you think about the match? Let us know in the comments below!