Toljan rides to Germany's aid

At the start of this week, Jeremy Toljan was going to school in Stuttgart. On Thursday, following an unexpected flight to Serbia, he helped Germany into the final of the UEFA European Under-17 Championship.

Not only did Germany have four players suspended for the semi-final against Denmark, but Levent Aycicek had been ruled out of the tournament due to injury. Coach Steffen Freund opted to replace the playmaker with VfB Stuttgart defender Toljan and on Tuesday he arrived, two days later coming off the bench in a 2-0 victory in Novi Sad that sets up a final against the Netherlands.

"It is a great feeling to get through to the final, of course we will do our best in that match," Toljan told UEFA.com. "Denmark are a very strong team. But I had great confidence in our abilities and I was always certain about the fact we could make it."

Toljan's only previous tournament experience was a very brief substitute appearance in the elite round against Ukraine in March and, of course, he was not part of the initial 18-strong squad for Serbia. In the group stage, Germany faced elimination when, having lost 2-0 to the Netherlands, they trailed the Czech Republic, but a late equaliser followed by a 1-0 defeat of Romania took them through and led to Toljan's call.

"As for as was possible around school, I have been watching," Toljan said, before discussing his emergency selection. "It was a bit stressful, I didn't have that much time to join the team. But everything was perfectly organised by the DFB and I was here quickly. I wanted to win the game, not only for Levent, but for the entire team."

He added: "I am always happy to come and play for the German squad. Although I was of course disappointed not to be in the squad at the beginning of the tournament, I am glad I have been able to come and help the team."

Of the three substitutes Germany had available on Thursday, not only was there new arrival Toljan but also reserve goalkeeper Cedric Wilmes, reclassified as an outfield player. "It is not easy with only three players on the bench," said Toljan, who appeared for the last eight minutes on Thursday following the second goal. "But we gave our best and were able to win."

Now on Sunday, Germany's tournament finishes like it began on 3 May in Smederevo – only this time Toljan will be in the squad to face the Dutch. "Because we lost the first match against the Netherlands we are all the more motivated to win the second," he concluded.