Perfect “reboot”
Moukoko ends the U21’s wild usury of opportunities
September 12, 2023, 9:02 p.m
Thanks to Youssoufa Moukoko, Germany’s U21 national team made a perfect start to their European Championship qualification. The juniors deserved to win against Kosovo after a dominant performance. There is still plenty of room for improvement when it comes to exploiting opportunities.
Youssoufa Moukoko can be relied on: Thanks to a brace from the BVB striker, the U21 national team started qualifying for the 2025 European Championship with a 3-0 (0-0) win in Kosovo. The 18-year-old now has eight goals in eight appearances for the team. In front of 2,000 spectators in Pristina, DFB coach Antonio Di Salvo’s newly formed team had to tremble for a long time, missed their best chances – and were rewarded with Moukoko’s goals in the 74th and 78th minutes. Colin Kleine-Bekel from Holstein Kiel finally made everything clear (88th). “The bottom line is that I’m happy that we won. The belief that it could work was always there. We knew it would be a difficult game,” said Di Salvo on ProSieben MAXX.
This makes the German team, alongside Poland, the only team without a point loss in Group D. Germany started the European Championship qualification with a win for the 13th time in a row; the last point loss occurred in 1998 (0-2 in Turkey). Di Salvo had called for “intensity” and “enthusiasm” before kick-off. His team delivered right from the start on the difficult pitch: the DFB team controlled the game, tried again and again with diagonal balls, but for a long time they couldn’t find a way to counter the home side’s defensive line.
After the bitter preliminary round European Championship exit in the summer, Di Salvo called up a completely rejuvenated eleven, with only three players remaining in the squad. The defense in particular was convincing, as it was in the test against Ukraine (2-0) on Friday. The “gambling mentality” of Kosovo that the DFB coach expected never really came to fruition. The only drawback remained the exploitation of opportunities. Moukoko aimed too high from a distance (27th), Tim Lemperle (SpVgg Greuther Fürth), who had already been successful against Ukraine, also shot over the goal from close range. After the break, Lemperle (50th) hit the post again, and Merlin Röhl (SC Freiburg) failed miserably in the follow-up shot.
When there was already a threat of a zero number, Moukoko struck. For the striker, a trip to the U21 is also a kind of new beginning. “Youssoufa doesn’t have an easy task ahead of him with the transfer quake in Dortmund. He knows that,” Di Salvo said before the game. In Niclas Füllkrug, the top talent has received a well-known competitor; despite requests, a change did not materialize. “Nevertheless, he is a striker with quality. We want to ensure that he comes back to BVB with self-confidence,” said Di Salvo. That succeeded.