Germany U21s complete undefeated qualifying campaign, yet still blow lead in draw with Poland | OneFootball

The two nations at the top of the UEFA U21 European Championship Group D qualifying bracket have concluded their respective qualifying campaigns with a 3-3 draw. The German and Polish U21s split the difference on Tuesday night in Lodz.

Antonio di Salvo's German guests rushed out to a 3-1 half-time lead behind goals from Nicola Tresoldi, Bright Arrey-Mbi, and Germany U21 debutant Paul Wanner, yet conceded twice in the second 45 during a pulsating affair in the Polish heartland.

Germany U21 head-coach Antonio di Salvo's DFB-Juniors concluded their qualifying campaign for next summer's UEFA U21 European Championship with a trip to the Widzew Łódź Stadium to play the Polish U21s on Tuesday evening. Though - having already qualified for the coming tournament via a win in Regensburg on Friday night - the match had real no real consequences for the German guests, di Salvo and crew were still keen to maintain an undefeated record through the entire qualifying campaign in their final fixture. This, they were able to accomplish, after a serious comeback scare.

With qualification for next summer's UEFA U21 European Championship already secured, Di Salvo made six changes to his previous XI. Three of Friday's starters had to miss out due to either injury or illness. Stuttgart's Nick Woltemade and Dortmund's Maximilian Beier - both of whom scored in Friday's win - were released from international duty early after falling ill. Freiburg center back Max Rosenfelder's recurrent back problems also meant that the 21-year-old returned to Breisgau.

VfL Bochum's Tim Oermann took over for Rosenfelder in central defense while Mainz attacker Paul Nebel slotted in for Maximilian Beier on the right wing. Replacing Woltemade in the ten position was none other than highly touted German-Austrian prospect Paul Wanner. Di Salvo added three non-enforced changes (all like-for-likes) to his 4-2-3-1. Köln's Jonas Urbig started above Freiburg's Noah Atubolu in net. Tom Rothe also replaced Luca Netz at left-back while Brajan Gruda displaced Ansgar Knauff on the right flank.

Two of the new starters made an immediate impact. Hannover 96 striker Nicolo Tresoldi grabbed the opening goal inside of three minutes. Tresoldi's 1-0 came courtesy of some very slick prep work from Gruda and Rothe. The German guests dropped back to defend deep immediately after notching the early lead, however, allowing a determined Polish side to appear confident on the ball and make some promising incursions. A well-deserved equalizer for Adam Majewski's men came in the 17th.

Arkadiusz Pyrka (aided slightly by a slip by the marking Jan Thielmann) was able to break through the DFB defensive ranks and set-up Dominik Marczuk for the 1-1. Parity would nevertheless not hold for long. Wanner put di Salvo's charges back in front with a dream goal in his Germany U21 starting debut. Gruda serviced the 18-year-old in the box in the 21st. In a sublime piece of skill, Wanner took a very intelligent first touch before blasting home the 2-1 with powerful finish on the in-step.

Nine-minutes after that, central defender Bright Arrey-Mbi increased the advantage at the half-hour-mark. The former FC Bayern academy man headed home a Rocco Reitz free-kick for the 3-1 in the 30th. The DFB-Juniors could have gone up by three goals five minutes later off another set-piece, but Eric Martel unfortunately headed Reitz's 35th-minute corner wide of the mark. After a strong finish to the half, di Salvo felt confident enough in his team's prospects to employ a triple change ahead of the second 45.

Knauff, Hendry Blank, and Umut Tohumcu relieved Wanner, Martel, and Arrey-Mbi ahead of the restart. The changes very nearly reaped excellent dividends. Knauff found himself somewhat unlucky to hit the side netting in the 46th. The Germans continued to press forward in search of more goals, as a result rather regrettably leaving themselves vulnerable on the counter. Jakub Kaluzinski was the first to make di Salvo's crew pay with the 2-3 in the 50th. Filip Szymczak then deflected an effort off the post in the 54th.

Mariusz Fornalczyk netted the 59th-minute equalizer in breathtaking fashion. The 21-year-old attacker latched onto a midfield ball and fearlessly tore through the DFB defensive ranks. After out-deking no fewer than three markets, Fornalczyk curled in a silky smooth effort from 15 meters out into the opposite corner. The German guests couldn't help but appear rattled and disorganized after Fornalczyk's humbling solo stunner and didn't really regain composure until the final ten minutes.

Only some desperate defending from di Salvo's men spared them their first loss of the qualifying campaign through a hectic final phase. Interestingly enough, it was Köln's Jan Thielmann (who had hitherto turned in a horrible match) who bailed the Germans out. Thielmann cleared an Czary Polak effort off the line in the 86th. The best chance at a late winner from the guests came at 90+4 when Tresoldi headed wide.