Germany U21 lose 1:2 to Belgium in Essen, ending eight-match winning run

Injuries shape the line-up

Antonio Di Salvo had to rebuild his squad during the week after the call-up, as one player after another dropped out. Lukas Ullrich, Arijon Ibrahimovic and Mika Baur withdrew with injuries, and goalkeeper Mio Backhaus and Karim Coulibaly followed. Hendry Blank and captain Nicolò Tresoldi then left the camp after a collision in training, with Tresoldi suffering a slight concussion. Tom Bischof and Lennart Karl were missing because Jürgen Klopp had called them up to the senior side. Dennis Seimen started in goal, Joshua Quarshie wore the captain's armband as a centre-back for the first time, and Hennes Behrens and Cajetan Lenz made their debuts.

Duranville and Damar trade goals

Belgium took the lead in the eighth minute. Lucas Stassin got past Nnamdi Collins on the right, and Julien Duranville, the former Borussia Dortmund player now at Olympique Lyon, finished from the cross. Muhammed Damar equalised in the 25th minute with a flat free kick from about 20 metres, sent low under the wall. The Wolfsburg forward also struck the crossbar with a free kick, and a later curling effort hit the bar after the break. Romeo Vermant, who came on as a substitute, scored for Belgium in the 65th minute with his first touch. Germany pushed for an equaliser but could not find one, against a Belgian side that had conceded only twice in qualifying. The match was watched by a crowd of 10,107.

Reactions from the coach and the scorer

Di Salvo judged the performance positively despite the result, saying the defeat was hard but manageable.

“I am not happy about the defeat, but I can cope with it.”

He added that his side should at least have drawn, and he pointed to the 2:3 loss to Greece in October 2025 as the last defeat before this one. Damar took the result pragmatically and said he would rather lose now than next year, when the finals take place. After his free kick he celebrated with a ball boy at the touchline, and he described the moment in simple terms.

“He just stood there. He shared our joy.”

Records and the road ahead

Tresoldi, who has 16 goals for the U21 side, is two short of Pierre Littbarski's record. He said he still has goals and records he wants to break.

“I still have a few goals, records that I have to break.”

He has not yet chosen between Italy, his birth country, and the DFB, and he intends to decide only after those records. Germany's next match is against Croatia in Rijeka on Tuesday, 17 November. The group stage draw for the European Championship finals takes place in Belgrade on 26 November. The finals run from 16 June to 3 July 2027 in Albania and Serbia, and n-tv reports that Olympic tickets for Los Angeles 2028 are also at stake.