Germany vs. Italy live ticker - U21 European Championship: Semi-final duel, Woltemade fit

With the German U21 national team's quarterfinal clash with Italy, Nick Woltemade's goal-scoring quest at the European Football Championship continues. "I can't avoid questions like these. That's why I do keep an eye on them, but that's definitely not my primary goal," said the two-time senior international. He had four goals in two matches after the group stage.

Portugal's Geovany Quenda, who, along with William Osula (Denmark), who was also in demand on Sunday, chased Woltemade down with three goals after the group stage, was eliminated from the tournament on Saturday evening with a 1-0 defeat to the Netherlands. The 18-year-old even missed a penalty. Reigning champions England remain in contention with Liverpool star Harvey Elliott, who scored his second goal of the tournament in the 3-1 win against Spain.

Woltemade recently got a breather in the group final against England . He can continue his goal-scoring spree in Sunday evening's match (9:00 p.m./Sat.1) in Dunajska Streda. "Nick is on fire," said national coach Antonio Di Salvo. The foot problem has apparently been resolved. Woltemade will be "100 percent fit" for the match.

Woltemade believes the break hasn't given away any goals. "Hopefully, we still have enough games in which I can score," said the Stuttgart cup winner. Three goals in the 3-0 win against Slovenia were followed by a goal and two assists in the 4-2 victory against the Czech Republic. At the 2023 European Championship, just three goals were enough to secure the title of top scorer; no young footballer has ever scored more than seven goals in a tournament.

Woltemade could become the fourth German top scorer at a U21 European Championship, following Pierre Littbarski (1982), Luca Waldschmidt (2019), and Lukas Nmecha (2021). He could even win the Player of the Tournament award, which current DFB sporting director Rudi Völler won in 1982. The Player of the U21 tournament almost always came from one of the finalist nations.

The day before the match against the Italians, Di Salvo kept quiet about which of his 22 players will start in the knockout clash. It will likely be the majority of the starting lineup from the first two matches. Di Salvo will also factor in the fact that Mönchengladbach's Rocco Reitz and Brajan Gruda will be suspended if they receive another yellow card in a possible semifinal. "Everything plays a role," Di Salvo said.