Wedding as a distraction: German U21 team struggles with the "football god"
In the European Championship final, the German U21 team once again demonstrated its comeback qualities, but ultimately it was not able to win the title.
Rocco Reitz lost with the German U21 team to England in the European Championship final. IMAGO/DeFodi Images
"That little bit of luck wasn't on our side today," said a visibly and naturally disappointed Antonio Di Salvo on the Sat. 1 microphone after the final defeat . While the German coach was aware "that we were lucky in one or two situations in the first half," the bitter realization remained: "The football gods weren't on our side today."
The pattern was similar: After Paul Nebel's shot hit the crossbar in the fourth minute of stoppage time, narrowly missing the win in regular time, Merlin Röhl also dramatically frustrated the match at the end of extra time. Just moments later, referee Sander van der Eijk called the game a halt, allowing England to celebrate defending their title.
After 20 unbeaten matches (17 wins, 3 draws), Germany's streak ended at the worst possible time. It had been exactly two years to the day since their last defeat, a 2-0 loss in the 2023 European Championship group stage . Their opponents then? The English, of all teams.
I am extremely proud, I am a proud coach of a great U21 team.
Meanwhile, Di Salvo "couldn't make any accusations" against his team; instead, pride over the achievements of the past two and a half weeks prevailed: "I'm incredibly proud, I'm a proud coach of a great U21 team," said the 46-year-old.
Midfielder Rocco Reitz shared his coach's opinion and also criticized the team's performance in the first half: "The biggest problem was against the ball," said the 23-year-old, who at times had to watch how he and his teammates were "really countered a few times in the best possible way."
Just a few minutes after the final whistle, Reitz was at least somewhat encouraged by the positive response the DFB team's performances had generated at home in recent weeks: "Of course, we've noticed a bit of it, because we all use social media endlessly." The fact that congratulations were also received "from the senior national team and other big players" was "really impressive."
He couldn't predict how long the Gladbach player might still be feeling the effects of the final defeat. The next highlight, and perhaps the best possible distraction, is already upon us: "My wedding is this weekend. I hope that distracts me a bit."
