Germany defeated by Spain in U19 European championship final
Germany were beaten 2-0 by Spain in the U19 European Championship final on Saturday, ending their hopes of claiming a third continental title in the age category.
Head coach Christian Wörns, a former senior Germany international who laced his boots for Bayer Leverkusen, Paris Saint-Germain and Borussia Dortmund in his playing days, sent out a side filled with promising Bundesliga youngsters in the title-decider in Wrexham.
That included Hamburg's Otto Stange, Leverkusen’s Montrell Culbreath and Elversberg attacker Francis Onyeka, an exciting trio whose pace and trickery caused Spain problems going forward in a tight first half.
However, it was Spain who held a narrow lead at the interval. Shortly after Hugo López hit the crossbar with a clever chip, the forward found the net when he tucked in the rebound following a Daniel Yañez effort that hit the post.
They doubled their advantage early in the second period when Mario Rivas headed in a corner from Yañez, giving Germany a mountain to climb against a side yet to concede a goal in the tournament.
The closest Wörns’ charges came to a reply was a Moritz Reimers strike that hit the post and then goalkeeper Manu González, before he scrambled back to claim the ball on the line.
Dortmund’s Ousmane Diallo came off the bench for La Rojita in the second half to help them secure a tenth U19 title.
