The defeat constituted the first loss for the German U21s in a qualifying match in nearly four years. Way back at the beginning of Di Salvo’s tenure, the U21s fell 0-4 to Poland at the WirMachenDruck Arena in Aspach on November 11th, 2021. Since then, despite a disappointing 2023 Euros and some defeats in friendlies, Di Salvo’s youngsters went 16 qualifying fixtures without a defeat.

The search for answers was on following the Friday loss. The fact that Di Salvo’s selection remains injury-ridden certainly didn’t help. In addition to the four players who have officially departed DFB camp, Southampton centre-back Joshua Quarshie (a regular starter) was unable to play on Friday. Two players Di Salvo called up late – Eintracht Frankfurt’s Elias Baum and Dynamo Dresden’s Julian Pauli – have also had to leave camp injured. 

Bayern Munich midfielder Tom Bischof – another eagerly anticipated U21 debutant – was given the captain’s armband and did register an assist on Tom Rothe’s 2-2 equalizer. The rising FCB midfield talent nevertheless lamented the team’s sloppy start when conducting his post-match interview with ProSieben MAXX. Di Salvo, too, referenced errors in his own interview. 

“We have to be present from the very first minute onward and have enough balls to play forward,” Bischof told the German broadcaster. “We were simply afraid to play the ball forward. The spaces were too big. We should have closed down the field more. If we had done that, it would have been a better game more like the victory we envisioned.”

“I warned them [the team] about the Greeks,” Di Salvo added. “We made too many simple mistakes. Then the mistakes pile up because your confidence drops. We cannot afford any more mistakes or slip ups.“

Seimen’s goalkeeping error was emblematic of the entire error-strewn first half that simply didn’t work. Poor marking off a free-kick in the 13th enabled Konstantinos Kostoulas to score the opening goal. Less than a minute later Seimen fumbled a back-pass in front of the onrushing Stefanos Tzimas. The former Nürnberg striker collected the ball and then proceeded to out-deke Seimen for the 14th-minute 0-2. 

The clearly rattled German hosts made several more embarrassing amateurish errors before the half was out. Seimen recovered a bit to make some quality saves, but was himself spared further blushes by some lucky bounces and tight offside decisions. Seimen and the rest of the DFB defensive ranks looked out-of-sorts on Dimitris Rallis’ match-winning 2-3 in the 81st minute.

The 19-year-old Seimen certainly didn’t look like someone capable of challenging Werder Bremen keeper Mio Backhaus’ hold on the Germany U21 No. 1 slot. The current SC Paderborn loanee also almost certainly didn’t look like the net-minder his parent club VfB Stuttgart have earmarked to replace No. 1 Alexander Nübel next season.

“Of course, I’m extremely aggravated about it,” Seimen said of his mistake in the mixed zone on Friday night. “But it’s happened now and I have to put it behind me. I just thought I could kick the ball away. I’m pretty disappointed, but life goes on.“

“He knows full well that he made a mistake and there’s no escaping that,” Di Salvo added at the post-match press conference. “Logically, he had to clear the ball [out into touch], but I’m annoyed at how it came to that back pass. We simply played back unnecessarily.

“Mistakes are part of football and it happens,” Di Salvo was then sure to emphasize. “I will talk to him and build him back up, just as Klaus Thomforde [the goalkeeping coach] will. It happened. We will put it behind us. It’s all the more reason to pull together and do better [against Northern Ireland] on Tuesday.“

GGFN | Peter Weis

No further call ups were planned despite the fact that three players departed camp injured this week. The fact that Collins might now mist both matches nevertheless forced Di Salvo’s hand. 

FC Nürnberg fullback Tim Drexler and Dynamo Dresden centre-back Julian Pauli are on their way from the Germany U20s, who are actually not currently participating in the ongoing FIFA U20 World Cup in Chile. Neither Drexler nor Pauli (both 20) have been capped at U21 level before.

Di Salvo is already without Brighton’s Brajan Grada, Union Berlin’s Aljoscha Kemlein, and Hertha’s Linus Gechter. Eintracht Frankfurt fullback Elias Baum and Dynamo Dresden midfielder Kofi Amoako have been called up to replace Kemlein and Gechter. 

Di Salvo explained his reasoning at a Thursday press event, explaining that missing too many players left him unable to run 11-aside training sessions. Collins remains eligible, but the squad still looks rather different than it did seven days ago.

The Full squad

Goalkeepers:

Dennis Seimen (SC Paderborn), Max Weiß (FC Burnley), Leon-Oumar Wechsel (GKS Tychy)

Defenders:

Hendry Blank (Hannover 96), Nnamdi Collins (Eintracht Frankfurt), Julian Pauli (Dynamo Dresden), Tim Drexler (1. FC Nürnberg), Leandro Morgalla (VfL Bochum), Joshua Quarshie (FC Southampton), Tom Rothe (Union Berlin), Elias Baum (Eintracht Frankfurt), Lukas Ullrich (Borussia Mönchengladbach)

Midfielders:

Noel Aseko Nkili (Hannover 96), Muhammmed Damar (TSG Hoffenheim), Said El Mala (1. FC Köln), Kofi Amoako (Dynamo Dresden), Mert Kömür (FC Augsburg), Paul Wanner (PSV Eindhoven), Tom Bischof (Bayern Munich), Assan Ouédraogo (RB Leipzig)

Forwards:

Ilyas Ansah (Union Berlin), Dzenan Pejcinovic (VfL Wolfsburg), Nicolo Tresoldi (Club Brugge), Nelson Weiper (Mainz 05)

GGFN | Peter Weis

There’s naturally reasoning behind the benching of both players, but the fact that neither one has at least not gotten a token relief appearance remains curious. Kumbedi – a highly coveted deadline day signing – was supposed to take some of the load of Wolfsburg right back Kilian Fischer. Dardai’s complete absence from the pitch is odd given the fact that the midfielder can also fill in as a centre-back; something the team desperately needs. 

In Kumbedi’s case, it appears that the language barrier is keeping the Lyon loanee from breaking through in training. The French U21 international – per Kicker – doesn’t have a solid grasp of either English or German. This obviously wouldn’t have been a problem in the days of Joshua Guilavogui’s VfL captaincy or even when Maxence Lacroix was with the club. At present, however, there are no Frenchmen on the team apart from the injured Mathys Angely. 

Dardai seems to have been squeezed out at all his positions. In central midfield, Simonis is busy trying to figure out a way to integrate record signing Vinicius Souza into the team. Christian Eriksen’s arrival leaves him without much prospect of working in attacking midfield and the roster is loaded down with wingers/attack-minded midfielders. 

Dardai’s experience in central defense is actually rather scant. Simonis’ reaction to Denis Vavro’s long-term absence has been to fall back on want-away centre-back Moritz Jenz whilst giving deadline day acquisition Jenson Seelt auditions in friendlies. There simply appears to be no place for the youngest Dardai brother, whose elder siblings Palko and Marton are still earning minutes elsewhere. 

With an estimated market value of €12m, Bence Dardai happens to be a rather expensive player to be doing nothing more than gracing the dugout. Bence’s lack of playing time also renders him non-candidate to represent the heritage country he so proudly committed to last February. 

While Bence’s older brother Marton is off on international duty with the Hungarian national team this week, Bence was stuck preparing to contest a friendly against Marton and his former club Hertha BSC. Bence at least played 90 minutes in the unofficial 0-2 loss. 

Despite all the adversity, Bence attempted to conduct himself with professionalism and class in a recent interview with Kicker. In point of fact, the 19-year-old expressed enthusiasm about facing his former club.

“It’s a special game for me,” Dardai said. “I’m really looking forward to seeing many familiar faces again. Athletic trainers, physios, and former teammates. It’s also important for me to get playing time.“

“I don’t have any strong arguments at the moment,” Dardai – who made 25 appearances across all competitions under Ralph Hasenhüttl last year – said of his current playing-time situation. “It’s a difficult phase that I just have to get through.

“Of course, I had hoped for more, especially because I showed last season that I can play at this level,” Dardai nevertheless continued. “So it’s bitter to not be playing at all at the moment. I assumed that I would at least get some minutes this season.”

“The coach is relying on other players and some new players have joined,” Dardai concluded. “I really want to play. I really want to help the team, but there’s brutal competition. Such phases are part of development. I’ll continue to fight for minutes. Perhaps this will make me stronger.“

GGFN | Peter Weis

Kicker reports that Arnold’s thigh injury may be serious enough to sideline the skipper for months. Simonis confirmed that Arnold is scheduled for further examinations tomorrow. After winning their opening Bundesliga match against the league’s current last-placed side, 1. FC Heidenheim, Simonis’ Wolfsburg drew twice before losing their last three fixtures heading into the October break. 

Germany’s green company team presently finds themselves 15th-place in the Bundesliga table. Simonis’ team have also lost their last two test fixtures against 2. Bundesliga opponents Paderborn and Hertha. The newly appointed head coach – by far the most inexperienced of the 18 coaches in the German top flight – also answered questions about job security after the Hertha loss. 

“Of course, we have to deliver,” Simonis said. “We have to win games. I [still] don’t feel any particular pressure because we know – and it’s obvious enough – that we need time.“

GGFN | Peter Weis

With Düsseldorf 13th in the 2.Bundesliga, they have decided to part ways with Daniel Thioune after three and a half years together. Kicker reports that the reason for this is that the club believe he is unable to turn the club’s current situation around. 

During his time, Thioune made Fortuna a top half 2.Bundesliga side, and they came close to promotion in 2024 when they threw away a 3-0 lead to lose on penalties to Bochum in the Relegation Playoff. 

Now, Düsseldorf are set to appoint Anfang as their new head coach. He was previously a player for Fortuna between 2006 and 2008 after joining from Duisburg on a free transfer. 

Anfang was last in charge of Kaiserslautern, before he was dismissed with the club within touching distance of the promotion places. 

The 51-year-old’s coaching history has seen him take charge of 1.FC Köln, Darmstadt, Werder Bremen, Dynamo Dresden, and FCK.

Anfang’s time at Bremen was cut short due to a forged COVID-19 vaccination certificate so he could attend carnival in the Domstadt. 

GGFN | Jack Meenan

Hamburg Make Mince Meat of Mainz 

Hamburg made it back-to-back home wins as they battered Mainz 05 4-0 on Sunday afternoon. HSV were on top from the first minute and found themselves 2-0 up after just nine minutes thanks to goals from Albert Sambi Lokonga and Rayan Philippe. Philippe would add to his first goal in the second half, bringing his tally for the season to three goals from six games. The forward had a failed move to Mainz in the summer and mocked the situation with his celebration by mimicking a phone call. 

HSV head coach Merlin Polzin opted for a new 3-4-3 formation, and it worked a treat against a side that was so successful last campaign. 

“We’re progressing and one can see that in our play with the ball and against the ball. We’ve more steps to take, but one senses – and this is vitally important – that the team is finding out who they are and the connections are getting better. The players need to feel it on the pitch,” explained Polzin. 

HSV move up to 9th in the Bundesliga, whilst Mainz drop to 16th. 

Bayern Breeze Past Frankfurt

Ahead of this one, it was billed as Bayern’s first big test this season. However, when Bayern went 0-1 up after 17 seconds through Luis Díaz, it was anything but a real test. 

Bayern once again dominated and showed just how powerful their forward line is this season. Vincent Kompany’s side went 0-2 before the break through a Harry Kane curled effort from 20 meters out. If you haven’t seen the goal already, I urge you to take a look. 

Diaz added to his first-half goal late into the second half to make sure that Bayern go six wins from six games in the Bundesliga. 

“I don’t think these games should be used as a yardstick to evaluate the boys right now,” Toppmöller insisted when conducting a post-match interview with Sky Germany after the match. “It’s important for us to know that we still have a little room for improvement in order to compete at this level.”

“No one has been able to keep up with Bayern at their level thus far [this year],” Toppmöller continued, adding special praise for Harry Kane’s distance effort that made it 0-2 in the 27th minute. “That was a typical Bayern goal and Harry Kane’s finish was simply world-class.”

For Frankfurt, it’s now 12 goals conceded in four games in all competitions. There’s no question that Frankfurt have an excellent team, but right now, their defensive displays will be worrying head coach Dino Toppmöller. Bayern stay top as Frankfurt drop out of the European places for the first time this season (7th).  

Dortmund Leipzig Stalemate 

Borussia Dortmund and RB Leipzig played a rather dull 1-1 draw that was billed as “the battle of the Bayern chasers”. In fact, the final xG stats (Dortmund 0.88, Leipzig 1.05) illustrate that the final scoreline was even a little generous. 

Dortmund remain undefeated this season ahead of their showdown with Bayern after the international break. Leipzig, meanwhile, continue their undefeated run since being battered by Bayern on opening night. 

In truth, both teams will probably be satisfied with the draw as Dortmund and Leipzig stay 2nd and 3rd, respectively. 

Around The Grounds

Elsewhere in the Bundesliga, FC Heidenheim still remains bottom following a 1-0 loss to VfB Stuttgart. The Swabians scored the winner just past the hour mark from time to add even more misery on Frank Schmidt’s side. Heidenheim stay bottom, whilst Stuttgart shoot up into 4th. 

Bayer Leverkusen have put their early-season woes behind them as they go 5th with a 2-0 win against Union Berlin. It’s the first time that B04 has registered back-to-back Bundesliga wins this season as new head coach Kasper Hjulmand looks to be making a positive impact on his squad. 

Borussia Mönchengladbach still remain winless going into the international break after a 0-0 draw against SC Freiburg. Despite that and amid all the administrative turmoil at Borussia Mönchengladbach, interim head coach Eugen Polanski has been given the green light to continue his audition on the sidelines.

There were also wins for FC Köln (0-1 vs TSG Hoffenheim), Werder Bremen (1-0 vs St. Pauli), and FC Augsburg (3-1 vs VfL Wolfsburg). 

GGFN | Jamie Allen

“I was always proud to represent the DFB Juniors,” Castrop told Kicker’s Oliver Bitter. “My mother left the decision up to me. It was a very difficult decision, and I thought about it for a long time. But I see myself as very Asian in terms of my character traits. I used to take taekwondo and being competitive is a very Asian trait of mine.”

When it comes to learning the language and culture, the German-raised 22-year-old admitted that he had to make some big adjustments. That nevertheless didn’t dampen his enthusiasm for his assignment one bit. Castrop found it an absolute privilege to play for the South Korean team against opponents like Mexico and the USMNT in the states last month.

“We played courageous Korean football,” Castrop said of recent friendlies played in New Jersey and Tennessee. “It was a really intense experience. In New York [where the team camped ahead of the USMNT match] it was basically a home game for us because there are so many Koreans there. South Korean fans seek physical contact with you and shed tears when you pass by. It’s extreme.

“Learning Korean isn’t like learning English or French,” Castrop said of the linguistic learning curve. “The structure of the language and the characters [are different]. I can now read things online, but I can’t understand those who speak Korean. Fortunately, everyone speaks English and I have an interpreter at team meetings. My mother can also teach me a lot, so I’m making progress.

“Everyone is very polite and bows when greeting one another,” Castrop said when talking about locker room culture. “There is a very clear hierarchy in terms of age. There is generally great respect for older people. As a young player, you’re the last to get into the elevator and you bring the others fruit after meals. No one leaves the table until everyone has finished eating.

“He is Korea’s hero,” Castop added what it felt like to play alongside Son Heung-min “The great leader leads the team, gives the speeches, and holds the whole team together. He talks to everyone and has a very close and good relationship with everyone. He really is an incredible personality and is a great person.“

GGFN | Peter Weis

All professionals associated with the Wolfsburg project expressed their dissatisfaction with the team’s form following yesterday’s loss. An editorial published by highly respected German footballing journalist Thomas Hiete of Kicker strongly avers that the VfL front office has once again failed to put a coherent project together. Danish managing director Peter Christiansen – now in office for 15 months – doesn’t appear to be succeeding in his task. 

Yesterday’s passive and lethargic performance was labeled “anemic” by VfL right back Kilian Fischer. Head coach Paul Simonis and VfL sporting director Sebastian Schindzielorz concurred. Hiete calls into question whether Danish managing director Christiansen’s call for a “Wolfsburg brand of exciting and thrilling football” is something that can be achieved with an eager-to-please rookie coach. 

“That was not enough in all areas,” Schindzielorz remarked in the mixed zone yesterday. “There was only one team on the pitch that wanted to win and that was Augsburg.“

“There must never be a lack of intensity or energy,” a perplexed and angry looking Simonis added at the post-match press conference. “Those things should be easy to achieve.“

“There are dangerous symptoms emerging in Wolfsburg,” Hiete writes. “Symptoms of a relegation candidate. Christiansen has not made any visible progress with his plans. What does Wolfsburg actually stand for?”

Hiete goes on to reference specific new acquisitions in the summer transfer market that are not being used properly by Simonis. Chief among these is €18m Sheffield United signing Vinicius Souza, whom Hiete argues is being wasted as an attacking midfielder in order to keep him from encroaching on VfL captain Maximilian Arnold’s territory. 

“All observers see the Brazilian as a classic defensive midfielder who – with his strength in one-on-one situations in front of the defense – could be of great value to the team,” Hiete writes. “But because he can’t get past captain Arnold, Simonis is trying a lazy compromise positioning Vinicius Souza more offensively as a link-up player. This only partially fits his profile.“

Hiete also questions why German left back Aaron Zehnter – after a conspicuously strong start – has been replaced by Danish fullback/winger Joakim Maehle. The versatile Sane can literally play in all manner of positions. There doesn’t seem to be a strong case for allowing Zehnter to be phased out. 

There’s also evidence that other Danes – such as Jonas Wind, Christian Eriksen, and Adam Daghim – are being used above more qualified players. Moreover, Deadline day additions such as Saël Kumbendi and Jenson Seelt are either being barely used or not used at all.

Is the inexperienced Simonis trying too hard to impress his Danish managing director? Did Christiansen and Schindzielorz hire someone too eager to placate players and bosses and too cowardly to construct his own project?

“It’s by no means bad luck coincidence that Wolfsburg has only picked up two points since their opening day win against Heidenheim,” Hiete writes. “Time and again, serious individual errors already destabilize the team’s fragile structure. Simonis opens himself up to criticism with his personnel selections.”

GGFN | Peter Weis

After garnering an assist in Eintracht’s opening round Pokal victory, Uzun set a new club record in Eintracht’s Bundesliga opener. No 19-year-old SGE player had ever recorded three scorer points in a single game. Uzun parlayed his goal and two assists against Werder Bremen into a “scorched earth” start to his season in general, scoring a goal in five straight matches on-the-spin. 

The streak at long last came to an end in Tuesday’s Champions League defeat to Athletico Madrid. Uzun then obviously didn’t get his name on the scoresheet in Bayern Munich’s blanking of his team in the match-day six Bundesliga Saturday evening “Top-Spiel“. A pair of less successful games still doesn’t diminish Uzun’s accomplishments: Six goals and four assists in nine matches across all competitions. 

Both Bayern head coach Vincent Kompany and DFB director Rudi Völler had their chances to register comments about Uzun this week. Völler – with some degree of wistfulness – spoke on his inability to get the Regensburg-native to represent Germany. Kompany noted that Uzun’s rise renders the departure of so many big names from the Bundesliga this summer irrelevant.

SGE sporting director Timmo Hardung also spoke on Uzun on last Sunday’s “Doppelpass” roundtable discussion. The Eintracht personnel executive spoke on the importance of staggering development for young talents like Uzun whilst discussing the player’s first season with Eintracht. 

“We tried [to recruit him],” Völler remarked at the Premier of his new documentary film “Rudi Völler – Es gibt nur einen“. “In the end, we accepted his decision [to represent Turkey] after a lovely conversation with his father and agent. Seeing him have such a successful career now, I have to admit,  brings a little tear to my eye. Because that’s exactly what we hoped for. He’s a wonderful footballer.“

“[Can is] a very good example of what development means and how long it sometimes takes in terms of time and patience,” Hardung added on “Doppelpass“. “He came from the 2. Bundesliga [1. FC Nürnberg] and that was taken into account.The road is far from over, but we can now see what he is capable of.“

“We’ve lost many top players in the Bundesliga,” Kompany noted with a wink when asked about Can at his Friday pre-match press conference. “But that also makes room for a new generation of top players.“

GGFN | Peter Weis

Saturday afternoon saw the turn of Augsburg vs Wolfsburg, Bayer Leverkusen hosting Union Berlin, St.Pauli travelling to Werder Bremen, and the standout game of the afternoon being Borussia Dortmund vs RB Leipzig. 

Here are the three things we learnt:

Borussia Dortmund struggle in their first big Bundesliga test:

Dortmund went down early on against RB Leipzig thanks to a Christoph Baumgartner opener, but they were able to rally and equalise through Yan Couto. However, apart from that, die Schwarzgelben struggled to impose themselves on the visitors. 

Via FotMob, Dortmund failed to register a big chance against Leipzig, and it looked as if their attacks struggled to get into the game, compared to the likes of Johan Bakayoko, Yan Diomande and Romulo for Leipzig. This could have potentially been the type of game to bring Carney Chukwuemeka on for, but instead, he remained on the bench. 

Simply put, Leipzig were just the better side on both the defensive and attacking ends. This could be because they did not have a midweek game, while Dortmund played Athletic Club. 

Dortmund can’t afford to get hung up on this result for too long, as after the international break, they face Bayern Munich. Considering that the Bavarians could go four points clear of them following today’s result, it will be a game they have to bring their best. 

However, as things stand, Dortmund will look like the only side that can come close to challenging Bayern this season. 

Bayer Leverkusen’s young attackers shine:

The wealth of attacking quality at Leverkusen’s disposal had failed to make their mark in the opening games of the season, but against Union Berlin, a rather unexpected pair took centre stage. 

Both Ernest Poku and Christian Kofane were the standouts for Leverkusen this afternoon. The former used his pace to help die Werkself counter Union, while Kofane was sharp enough to latch on to a Fredrick Ronnow mistake to score his first Bundesliga goal for the club. 

This was much needed for Levekrusen, as for much of the early stages of the season, they had to rely on Alejandro Grimaldo. The likes of Malik Tillman, Eliesse ben Seghir and Claudio Echeverri will still need to show their quality in the coming weeks. 

Kofane will be especially important in the absence of Patrik Schick, as there is no other recognised striker in the squad. 

The international break has come at the right time for Leverkusen. They currently sit fourth in the Bundesliga, but can now use the next two weeks to adjust to Kasper Hjulmand, as this will be the first extended period the Dane has with the team. After the international break, they face Mainz, and that should present a different-looking Leverkusen. 

Augsburg put some doubts to rest:

Heading into their game against Wolfsburg, Augsburg had not won a Bundesliga game since the opening day against Freiburg. This resulted in doubts starting to surface about head coach Sandro Wagner, but those were laid to rest today. 

Against the Autostadt side, Augsburg put in a commanding display winning 3-1, with Mert Kömur the standout player. The performance was reminiscent of their win against Freiburg in terms of the fact that they were clinical when it came to their finishing. There is still yet to be a clear sign of a style of play, but that will likely come with more time.

On Kömur, the 20-year-old was called up to the Germany under-21 national team. Considering he can also qualify for Turkey, the DFB must make sure they don’t experience the same fate they did with Can Uzun and Kenan Yildiz, and give Turkey their front three for the next generation. 

GGFN | Jack Meenan