Germany U19 book semi-final place in dramatic fashion | OneFootball

Knowing only a win would give them a chance to progress from the group stage, Germany started brightly with their first chance coming via Max Moerstedt as early as the fifth minute. The Hoffenheim striker also had Germany’s best chance when his audacious shot hit the crossbar midway through the half.

Hanno Balitsch’s side also had the welcoming news of the Netherlands taking the lead against England as Kees Smit kept his streak of scoring in every game. However, that news also opened the door for Norway’s qualification hopes. Even Sel’s team improved in the final ten minutes of the first-half as Konstantin Heide made a couple of good saves.

However, there was no goal at half-time at the Anghel Iordănescu Stadium. Meanwhile, England endured yet another torrid first-half as Zepiqueno Redmond and Lucas Vennegoor of Hesselink extended Netherlands' lead to 3-0.

At this time, all the three teams sit on 2 points with only a half of the football left to be played. Norway started the second-half as a team in pole position for the semi-final thanks to their superior goal difference.

Germany nearly changed that right after the break when Jarzinho Malanga, who replaced injured captain Noah Darvich, came close to breaking the deadlock. However, they were unable to keep up that intensity. Instead, more goals were scored in the other game, with Ethan Wheatley and Redmond strikes as the Netherlands went 4-1 ahead.

With every minute passing, Norway’s confidence grew, and they deservedly took the lead in the 72nd minute with a well-taken goal by Sondre Granaas. Said El Mala nearly followed it up with Germany’s equalizer, but the goal further dampened their spirits since they needed two goals in less than 20 minutes.

Paris Brunner, whose performance dropped massively following a strong first-half in the opening game, also failed to keep his header on target. On the contrary, Assan Ouédraogo has been very impressive with cameo appearances, and he made his biggest mark with a superb long-range goal in the 85th minute.

Norway struggled to keep their composure after that, and their goalkeeper Daniel Sætren made a howling mistake in injury-time. El Mala, fittingly Germany’s best player during the group stage, happily took the chance to send Germany through to the knockout stages.