UEFA U-21 Euros: Germany set to take on Romania in semi-final

After both teams topped their respective groups on seven points, they will face each other in the first UEFA Euro U-21 semi-final which will be played at the Stadio Renato Dall’Ara.

Road to the semi-final:

Germany U-21

Germany’s opening game in Group B was against Denmark. After a dominant first-half display they went 1-0 up through Marco Richter. He scored again after half-time to grab his second in the 52nd minute, and put Germany 2-0 up. Luca Waldschmidt made it 3-0 for Germany with Robert Skov grabbing a consolation for the Danes and therefore Germany gained all three points from their opener.

Germany’s second game in the group was against Serbia. A quick start from Germany saw them grab three goals in 37 minutes. A goal from Richter and a brace from Waldschmidt saw most of the game being dominated by the Germans. Mahmoud Dahoud added a goal to make it 4-0, Waldschmidt completed his hat-trick in the 80th minute.

Serbia grabbed a goal through Andrija Zivkovic’s penalty in the 85th minute with substitute Arne Maier scoring a late goal in the 92nd minute to make it 6-1 and adding another three points onto the Germans tally.

Germany’s last Group B game was against Austria who were a tough opposition for everyone in the group. The tournaments top goal-scorer, Luca Waldschmidt, scored his fifth of the tournament to open the scoring for Germany. Not long after that, ten minutes to be exact, Austria equalised through a Kevin Danso penalty which was enough to keep the score at 1-1 for the whole game, subsequently being enough to see Germany reach the semi-finals.

Romania U-21

Romania’s opening game was against Croatia in a very open game for both sides. It was Romania though who took the lead early on through George Puscas in the 11th minute with Ianis Hagi making it 2-0 not long after Puscas’ goal. Nikola Vlasic made it 2-1 in the 18th minute bring back some fighting spirit for the Croatians. In the second-half, goals from Tudor Baluta and Adrian Petre wrapped up a strong opening game for Romania with a high score of 4-1.

Romania’s second game was against competition favourites England, but after England lost the opening game to France 2-1 it looked like this game was set to have a tight and entertaining battle. After a poor first-half, goals started flying in with 20 minutes left in the fixture. Puscas made it 1-0 for Romania with Demarai Gray equalising not long after. Hagi made it 2-1, with substitute Tammy Abraham bringing England back level. A late brace from Florinel Coman sealed a 4-2 victory and six points from two games.

Romania’s last game in group C was against France with both teams being tied on six points, but Romania having a better goal difference. Both teams needed a point to qualify for the semi-finals. After a dull 90 minutes that had no real action, a 0-0 draw saw both Romania and France progress to the semi-finals.

Key Player

Germany- Luca Waldschmidt

The German forward has been an amazing asset for the German team that has seen the forward rack up five goals in only three games in this tournament. A tricky and always busy forward, he will be a key player in the starting 11 for the Germans.

His brilliant dribbling and long range shooting is what Germany really needs against a tough Romania defence that may see Germany needing to take a lot of long shots, in order to try and force a break through in the fixture.

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Romania- George Puscas

Romania’s key player in this European campaign has certainly been George Puscas. Puscas has also had a great campaign in terms of goals having scored two goals and assisting one in three games.

A fast runner who has an eye for goal and for a key pass, he will certainly be a threat for the German defence with the six foot two inch striker being a danger in the air and will require to be marked well by the German defence.