U21 starts against “miracle” kosovo in em-quali

U21 starts against 'miracle' kosovo in em-quali

With a win against debutant kosovo at the start of the european championship qualifiers, the german under-21 national team wants to take the first step in its mission to defend its title.

"I wanted to see an increase," said coach stefan kuntz before the match on tuesday (19.00 o’clock) in osnabruck. In the 1:2 test against hungary last week, kuntz still had 14 debutants in the squad. The coach therefore also: "one or the other will still jam."

THE OPPOSITION: kosovo’s u21s compete for the first time in a european championship qualifier. As a debutant, however, the team has already surprised, winning twice against norway – albeit once at the green table – and leading the german group 5. "Basically, it can be anything," said kuntz, who called the opponent "a marvel". Thilo kehrer, who will captain the team, said: "it will be important for us to be wide awake from the first second on."

PERSONNEL: captain jonathan tah leaves injured, and two european under-21 champions are missing in mahmoud dahoud and felix platte. After the many changes and the first U21 appearance for 14 players against hungary, kuntz now wants to find his regular team. "There are already a few changes," said kuntz, looking ahead to his starting lineup against hungary.

BOLZPLATZ: even with 14 newcomers in the squad – according to kuntz, the atmosphere in the team is such that "every player is getting close to his performance limit. For the players, the U21 is a "huge opportunity" to show themselves. "There must be a special kind of euphoria in our team. It’s a bit like playing on a football pitch, in terms of the feeling," said the coach. "The players are all the same age, so you play with more pleasure. And you can try things here."