After his brace for the German U21 national team, Karim Adeyemi signed autographs for some ball boys during his impressive comeback and then received praise from national coach Antonio di Salvo. “It was a very concentrated and committed performance right from the start,” said the U21 coach about the Dortmund player after the 5-1 (3-0) win against bottom-of-the-table Israel, who had no points. “Overall, I am very satisfied, of course because of the goals, but above all because of how well he defended at the back.”
Thanks in part to Adeyemi, the German U21 team continued its march through the European Championship qualification. After a break of more than five months, di Salvo’s still unbeaten team celebrated its sixth win in seven games. With 19 points, Germany is already four points ahead of second-placed Poland in Group D and is storming towards group victory.
Adeyemi “enjoyed it”
In Györ, Hungary, Nicolò Tresoldi (5th minute, 35th) and Adeyemi (14th, 61st) each scored a brace. Goalkeeper Jonas Urbig was powerless to stop a deflected shot from Niv Yehoshuha (64th). Ansgar Knauff (90th+4) put the finishing touches in injury time. “It was a good team performance, it was fun,” said Adeyemi. “The team showed what they can do and I was able to help.”
Next Tuesday (6 p.m.), di Salvo’s team, which will be allowed to relax on Friday as a reward, will face Estonia in Tallinn. The nine group winners and the three best runners-up will qualify for the 2025 finals in Slovakia. The other six runners-up will compete in playoffs for the last three places.
Reitz sets the pace
Di Salvo’s team literally rolled over the bottom team in the first half. After a cross from Rocco Reitz, Tresoldi got the Germans off to a dream start, constantly putting the Israelis under pressure. Adeyemi then escaped his opponent again after a pass from Reitz and scored the early 2-0 with a lob over goalkeeper Niv Eliasi.
The German U21s did not let up. After a great relay, Reitz (34th) missed the third goal. But Tresoldi made up for it again when he was in the right position after a corner and scored in the goal area. Adeyemi (37th) made a big splash shortly afterwards when his shot from around 18 meters thundered against the crossbar.
Adeyemi and the rejection
There had been a lot of talk about Adeyemi beforehand. The Dortmund player had cancelled his U21 squad at his own request in November 2023 after national coach Julian Nagelsmann failed to nominate him, preferring to train in Dortmund. “I was aware of my decision, it was a personal decision,” explained Adeyemi, who had been sharply criticized by DFB President Bernd Neuendorf.
Nagelsmann as an incentive
After an extensive conversation with di Salvo, all irritations were cleared up. And the four-time senior national player underlined his willingness to work hard on the pitch. “Karim is doing really well. They are still young people, you have to hug them, but also tug on their ears sometimes,” said DFB sports director Andreas Rettig on “ran.de” at halftime and praised a “convincing performance” by the U21s. “The boys know that Julian Nagelsmann is watching too. That should be motivation enough.”
Nagelsmann must have been pleased that Adeyemi also worked in defense when he returned. The U21s were able to cope with the fact that the aggressiveness from the first half dropped somewhat after the break.
© dpa-infocom, dpa:240904-930-223238/3
This is a message directly from the dpa news channel.
