“The ball just wouldn’t go in.”

Germany U21 head-coach Antonio di Salvo and goal-scorer Angelo Stiller both had their own difficulties coping with poor luck following Sunday night’s defeat at the U21 Euros in the Georgian city of Batumi. 

A vigorous offensive performance during the latter stages of Sunday night’s loss against the Czech Republic ultimately wasn’t enough for the German U21s to snatch a late point in their second group stage match at the UEFA U21 Euros. For the scorer of a brilliant second-half-equalizer, the result proved a particularly bitter pill to swallow.

“We just hade no luck in the game,” Hoffenheim midfielder Angelo Stiller remarked in his post-match interview with German broadcaster Sat.1, “We tried everything, we did everything. The ball just didn’t want to go in, as cliched as the sounds. One can’t deny that we didn’t give it our all.”

The statistics certainly backed up Stiller’s assertion. The DFB youths retained a 28:13 shot advantage, racked up a 7:1 ratio on crosses, and earned 11 corners to the Czech Republic’s two. Di Salvo’s charges certainly earned the right to feel hard done by after what was a largely dominant performance.

“The Czechs didn’t get looks at goal very often,” Stiller continued, “They had one solid counterattack, which they play well, but were otherwise not in the game. They hunkered down in the back. That wasn’t football what they were trying to do.”

“They played well enough,” di Salvo added when addressing the performance of the opponent, “but they simply made a lot out of very little. The ball fell for them. We had so many chances that didn’t go in and that’s a factor.”

“We were much more compelling in the second half,” di Salvo also told the German broadcaster, “The team believed in themselves. In the final analysis, one can’t deny that the team gave everything in trying to score a second goal. It just didn’t happen.”

Hard luck or no, the prospects for advancing to the quarterfinals now appear as bleak as ever. The Germans must not only defeat group leaders England on Wednesday, but also hope that the Israelis find a way of besting the Czechs. Shades of the recent World Cup – when a win for Germany in the final group stage match wasn’t enough – loom large.

“I still hold out hope,” di Salvo said, “We’ll field the best possible XI and play to win. We’ll spark some hope with a win and see what happens off our pitch.”

All that Stiller could do, with a noticeably crestfallen mien, was note that “It is possible”. Teammate Eric Martel promised that “so long as there is hope the team will believe”.

More about the match