First defeat for Malick Thiaw and the Germany U21s

Malick Thiaw played the full 90 minutes in Großaspach, but he could do nothing to prevent Germany’s disappointing start to the game. Parma’s Adrian Benedycyak scored a quickfire brace (5’, 12’) to give Poland the perfect start, and then Michal Skoras of Lech Poznan scored a third for (14’) and defender Jean Manuel Mbom of Werder Bremen was sent off for a last-man challenge (19’), which all but killed Germany’s chances of getting a result from the match.

Antonio Di Salvo’s side carried on fighting despite going a man down, but they were unable to get a goal back, and on the opposite side of the pitch, Kacper Kozlowski made it 4-0 to Poland in the dying moments of the game.

Despite the defeat, Germany U21s remain top of Group B with 12 points, but second-placed Israel are now level on points with them, whilst Poland trail with ten points. Germany’s next test is against San Marino in Ingolstadt on Tuesday (16th November).