U21 European Championship qualification begins in Rostock: Di Salvo relies on fresh talent!

U21 European Championship qualification begins in Rostock: Di Salvo relies on fresh talent!

A new phase is just around the corner for Germany's U21 national team: on Tuesday at 8:30 p.m. the time will come when they play Latvia in Rostock. This marks the start of the European Championship qualification, and national coach Antonio Di Salvo is determined to make a good impression with his new team. After the recent test match against Albania, which the U21 won 2-0, the anticipation is palpable, as [dfb.de](https://www.dfb.de/news/di-salvo-wir- Werden-einen-tritt-weiter-sein) reports.

Di Salvo expressed his satisfaction with the victory in the test, but emphasized that there is still room for improvement in receiving and carrying the ball. As he says, the team is in the discovery phase, but the chemistry is right. His emotional connection to Rostock, where he played many Bundesliga games, will give him additional motivation in front of his home crowd.

A new squad for the European Championship qualification

In this context, Di Salvo has appointed ten new players to his 23-man squad for the start of the qualification, including Ilyas Ansah from 1. FC Union Berlin. The young attacker was able to shine on his Bundesliga debut and scored two goals against VfB Stuttgart. Mio Backhaus from Werder Bremen and Finn Jeltsch from VfB Stuttgart are also new, which brings a breath of fresh air into the team. The same applies to VfL Wolfsburg striker Dženan Pejčinović, who is now strengthening the offensive, while new goalkeepers such as Dennis Seimen (SC Paderborn) and Max Weiß (Burnley FC) provide additional tasks such as that Voice.de reports.

A total of 52 UEFA member associations will fight for the 15 final places in qualifying for the 2025 U21 European Championship. Both teams are under pressure for the first time in a competitive game. Latvia, meanwhile, have already shown that they can expect dangerous players from set pieces and Di Salvo expects an unpredictable team.

The path to the EM 2025

The group stage of the qualification was drawn in February 2023. The German U21 kickers share the group with other European teams and have to show what they can do during this period, which lasts until October 15, 2024. The nine group winners and the three best runners-up make it straight to the finals, while play-offs are scheduled for other places. Political tensions have prevented some national teams from playing together in a group, further fueling competition. According to Wikipedia, some players who were originally planned for the U21, such as Nnamdi Collins, have already been called up to the senior national team, which increases the tension in the squad.

Finn Jeltsch, newly integrated into the team, notes that the team is not yet perfectly coordinated, but the defense is already working well. A challenge that the new players want to take on. For Jeltsch, the former U21 players are role models - his ambitions to establish himself in professional football are clearly noticeable.

The first game not only represents the start of the European Championship qualification, but also a test for the newly assembled squad. The Cologne fans can be excited to see how the team performs against Latvia!