Missed penalty kick in the 90th minute: A false start for U-19 against Croatia

Seconds before the end, he missed a great opportunity to equalize: Wolfsburg's Dzenan Pejnovic.
imago pictures

The German U-19 team started the second round of European Championship qualifying with a bang in the neck, and are now under a lot of pressure already. Coach Christian Forns spoke of “a lot of anticipation” and hoped “there will be no more bad news and that we can play the three matches with the best possible squad.”

Fornes, who demanded a “best performance”, had to deal with the first setback after just seven minutes. The DFB side, which started enthusiastically, fell behind after Freiburg's Marino lost possession – also because VfB goalkeeper Seimen did not look good when Pavic's long-range shot was taken.

The Germans then tried to find an answer and found one after half an hour: the committed tree crossed in from the right. Where Bijsinovic extended – and Mazza shot Hertha's talent technically in the left corner (32). Forens' side stuck it out and then fell behind again soon after: Amoako cleared a corner kick from the right at the feet of Brajkovic, who scored a stunning goal from the second row to make it 2-1 to the hosts (41'). ).

In the end, 22:10 footage is not enough

Less than 20 seconds after the start of the second half, Baum had a good opportunity, but his shot was blocked by Croatia goalkeeper Poljan (46). The game was now more open, and the German team almost scored a decisive own goal in the 57th minute. At the other end, the crowded Mazza had a great chance to equalize, but he shot the ball over the penalty area from a distance of six meters (62').

The DFB team pushed, pushed, pushed, but they were desperate. In the end, 69 percent of ball possession, 22:10 shots and 7:4 corners were not enough to count. Especially since Wolfsburg's Pejinovic missed a penalty kick in the 90th minute. Buljan sensed the corner and directed the ball to the post.

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After an inauspicious start in Varazdin, the DFB side is already under a lot of pressure. The match continues on Saturday (12.30pm) in Vrbović against Romania, who also lost initially (0-2 to Turkey). The final group match will be a comparison with the Turks on Tuesday (2pm).

Objectives and cards

1:0Branko Pavic (7')

1:1Maza (32')

Croatia

Borna Buljan – Luka Hodak, Ivan Cvetko, Vito Kaijic, Luka Vucković – Branko Pavic. Noah Bish, Ivan Kanguja, Luka Vrbancic – Tony Magic, Roko Brajkovic

Germany

What makes the opening defeat so painful: Only the group winner gets a ticket to the European Championship in Northern Ireland in the second half of July.