The holders will endeavour to claim their first win of the Under-21 Euro 2023 Championships at the second attempt on Sunday, as Germany Under-21s meet Czech Republic Under-21s in Group C at the Adjarabet Arena.
Jan Suchoparek's side were put to the sword 2-0 by England on the opening matchday, while the Germans were stunted by the 10 men of Israel in a 1-1 draw.
Match preview
© Reuters
Despite seeing just 26% of the ball in the first half of their opening battle with England, the Czech Republic showed signs of life on the counter-attack and could have counted themselves unfortunate not to have made the net bulge before the break.
Those missed opportunities would eventually come back to bite the Little Lions, as Jacob Ramsey calmly opened the scoring two minutes into the second half, and the Czech Republic could not muster up a reply before Emile Smith Rowe tapped in from close range in added time to double England's lead.
While there were numerous positives for the Czechs to take from that encounter, the embryonic Group C standings do not make for positive reading, as Suchoparek's side are already sitting rock-bottom of the section and will be consigned to a group-stage exit should they suffer defeat here.
The Little Lions only qualified for the finals by the skin of their teeth with a narrow playoff success over Iceland, but they have now gone six games without a win since overcoming their Nordic neighbours in the first leg of that affair, scoring a meagre two goals in the process.
Based on their first-half display against England, the Czechs are on the right path to attacking redemption, but they have not progressed to the knockout phase of the Under-21 Euros since 2011 and now face an even more daunting test against the continental champions.
© Reuters
Germany duo Youssoufa Moukoko and Jessic Ngankam may be having nightmares about Israel goalkeeper Daniel Peretz for some time, as the Under-21 Euro 2021 champions dominated the Young Chosen Team from start to finish but somehow only took a point back to base.
A frenzied first half saw Moukoko miss a third-minute penalty before strikes from Israel's Dor Turgeman and Germany's Yann Aurel Bisseck within six minutes of one another, but the writing was seemingly on the wall for Israel when Eden Karzev was sent off on the 45-minute mark.
Germany unsurprisingly spent most of the second 45 camped inside the Israel half, but Antonio Di Salvo's side had no answers to Israel's resilience, and they had a second spot kick from Ngankam kept out by an impenetrable Peretz 10 minutes before the end.
Di Salvo is already fighting an uphill battle to replicate the success of his predecessor Stefan Kuntz, but owing to a better disciplinary record, Germany's point is currently good enough for second place in Group C, although it is now three draws on the bounce for the European champions.
A tally of one win from their last six games in all tournaments does not serve to increase morale either, but Germany have only ever lost one of their eight meetings with the Czech Republic at Under-21 level, most recently triumphing 2-0 in the Euro 2017 group stage thanks to goals from Max Meyer and Serge Gnabry.
- D
- L
- L
- D
- D
- L
- L
- L
- W
- D
- D
- D
Team News
© Reuters
One silver lining from the defeat to England for Czech Republic boss Suchoparek was that his side picked up no new injury concerns, and changes may be kept to a minimum after a promising display.
Vasil Kusej and Vaclav Sejk were both withdrawn in the second half, but the attacking duo came close to breaching the Young Lions' backline and could get a second bite at the cherry here.
However, five-goal striker Daniel Fila could provide a pair of fresh legs in the final third, while Sparta Prague protege Adam Karabec can feel confident of forcing his way back into the midfield.
Similarly, Germany came out of their draw with Israel unharmed physically, but Moukoko and Ngankam were victims of abhorrent racial abuse online in the wake of their penalty misses on Thursday.
Di Salvo was left "shocked and disappointed" by the abuse, but there is nothing to suggest that the duo will not be involved on Sunday, and Moukoko should no doubt hold his place at the tip of the attack with Brentford attacker Kevin Schade.
Ngankam may therefore have to hope for a start out wide or in a deeper role in place of Denis Huseinbasic, but the latter ought to continue in the number 10 spot from the first whistle.
Czech Republic Under-21s possible starting lineup:
Jaros; Gabriel, Hranac, Vitik, Cedidla; Karabec, Cerv, Kaloc; Jurasek, Fila, Kusej
Germany Under-21s possible starting lineup:
Atubolu; Vagnoman, Matriciani, Bisseck, Netz; Krauss, Keitel, Stiller; Huseinbasic; Moukoko, Schade
We say: Czech Republic Under-21s 1-2 Germany Under-21s
The 2023 Euros already has the makings of a truly unpredictable tournament, and we would not put it past the Czech Republic to make one of their attacking plays count against the German backline, in spite of their recent difficulties when it comes to finishing chances.
Germany can empathise in that regard, but the champions would have easily come away with a convincing success against Israel on another day, and we expect Di Salvo's men to right the wrongs of midweek to belatedly kickstart their title defence and inflict another early exit on the Little Lions.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Top tip
Ben Knapton
Spain U21s
