Tough start to the year for the U21s: "Knew it wouldn't be easy"

The U21s weren't dissatisfied after their first international match of the year—but they weren't euphoric either, given the tedious 1-0 win in Slovakia. Coach Antonio Di Salvo was realistic about what he had seen after the match, but two of his players were particularly pleased with the success and their efforts.

He wasn't entirely satisfied after the victory in Slovakia: U-21 coach Antonio Di Salvo. IMAGO/DeFodi Images

The Slovakian and German U21 teams certainly didn't offer spectators a footballing treat on Friday evening in Trnava. Goal-scoring opportunities were scarce on either side. Dangerous opportunities for the German national team were often thwarted by the final pass, while the Slovaks repeatedly missed good opportunities due to technical inaccuracies or overly hasty moves. Brajan Gruda's goal to make it 1-0 remained the only goal of the evening.

The visitors had started promisingly, creating early opportunities in the opposition's penalty area thanks to the busy former Mainz player and Stuttgart's in-form Nick Woltemade , who later also provided a clever assist for the game's winning goal. "I think we got off to a good start," said coach Antonio Di Salvo after the match on ProSieben Maxx . The German team repeatedly put Slovakia under pressure early on, but this didn't result in any good opportunities. Instead, this summer's European Championship hosts were able to combine their way out of the game with relative ease.

Di Salvo criticizes - Jander has "a desire for more"

"They're good players," Di Salvo emphasized, before then putting his finger on the sore spot: "I knew it wouldn't be easy to press the boys – we didn't do that well." Overall, the match was "disjointed" with the game running on and many substitutions, and both teams made "many small mistakes" in their play – which was also due to the conditions on the pitch. The 45-year-old spoke of a "taste of what's to come." Di Salvo also emphasized, however, "that the referee whistled a lot in favor of Slovakia."

However, debutant Caspar Jander benefited from the numerous substitutions. The Nuremberg player came on in the second half and immediately slotted in with a shot, although it remained one of Germany's few offensive moves after the break. His inclusion had already been decided the day before: "The coach told me I'd play 45 minutes," Jander reported afterward, emphasizing the positive atmosphere within the team, even though he hadn't known many of the players personally before: "They're all really nice," said the 22-year-old, who will turn 22 in two days and is obviously keen to put himself forward for further call-ups in the future: "I'm hungry for more."

I also got that from my coach Fabian Hürzeler, that I should run to the first post.

Gruda, on the other hand, usually has a secure spot in the squad; he even got a taste of the senior national team this summer. The Mainz record signing, who currently has little chance of playing in Brighton, benefited from playing time with the U21s: "The boys are giving me a lot of energy, which is doing me a lot of good right now." The goalscorer didn't want to hide his goal, saying he followed an instruction from his club coach: "I also got that from my coach, Fabian Hürzeler, that I should run to the near post. The ball came in perfectly, and then it wasn't that difficult to slot it in."