Germany 3-0 France: Di Salvo's side storm out the blocks to stun Les Bleuets

Germany beat France 3-0 in the second UEFA European Under-21 Championship semi-final at the Košice Football Arena in Slovakia to seal a showpiece date with England and reach their fourth final in the last five tournaments.

Match in brief: Germany's scintillating start sinks France

Nelson Weiper jumps for joy after his openerUEFA via Getty Images

Germany made a lightning-fast start, forward Nelson Weiper grabbing his third goal in his last three games in Slovakia in the eighth minute, instinctively steering in after Paul Nebel's effort had been turned on to the bar by France goalkeeper Guillaume Restes.

Just six minutes later Weiper turned provider by putting through Nick Woltemade, who forced in at the second attempt to extend his lead as top scorer of the tournament with six goals in four matches.

Nick Woltemade wheels away after his sixth goal of the finalsGetty Images

Les Bleuets were roused by those setbacks and called the tune for the remainder of the first half but failed to seriously test Noah Atubolu before the interval. That all changed in the opening minute of the second period when the Germany goalkeeper reacted smartly to deny half-time substitute Thierno Barry from point-blank range.

The Germany No1 repeated the feat midway through the second half, this time clawing away Barry's close-range header from Loum Tchaouna's deep cross, and the substitute's ill luck continued when his late header struck a post as Gérald Baticle's men plugged away.

Antonio Di Salvo's then broke clear late on with Paul Wanner laying on the third for fellow substitute Brajan Gruda, sealing a rematch with an England side they defeated 2-1 in the group stage in Saturday's final in Bratislava.

Brajan Gruda celebrates his goal with Paul WannerUEFA via Getty Images

Player of the Match: Nick Woltemade (Germany)

"He linked up the play to set up attacks and displayed excellent technical ability to retain possession under pressure. It was a well-taken finish for his goal and a smart assist to set up the first with a well-timed and well-executed sliding pass. Without the ball he is a real team player with a strong mentality."
UEFA Technical Observer Group

Derek Brookman, match reporter

You could have made an argument at half-time that Les Bleuets were unlucky not to have pulled at least one goal back, but at the full-time whistle it was a different story. Germany really kicked on early in the second half, started combining through the lines again and created a hatful of opportunities to extend their lead, Gruda capping the victory late on after good work by fellow substitute Wanner. Di Salvo's team are absolutely worthy finalists, and will take some stopping at this rate.

Reaction

Antonio Di Salvo, Germany coach: "Our main goal was to get to Bratislava, to reach the final. We achieved that, I think, with an impressive performance. We took the lead right away, we scored two goals, and then we had to get through different phases of the game. France has a top team. We had Noah Atubolu in goal, who was excellent and kept us in the game once or twice with his saves."

Nick Woltemade, Germany striker: "I think we did really well today. To do it against a good team like this, it's amazing. Now we're in the final, we're really happy about it. One more step to go. I'm really excited. With this team, we've played a long time together, we've known each other a long time. It will be amazing, this will be our last game. We will do everything to win it."

Eric Martel, Germany captain: "It was a surprise for us that we were two in front so early. We then defended well and had a lot of chances to get the third goal. Our attacking players also defended very well. That makes us strong. We can defend, we can attack, we score goals, we don't concede many."

Nnamdi Collins, Germany defender: "We started very well. The game plan was clear; we did what the coach said, and then after the two goals we were very confident to finish the game. We know France play very well, have good technique and are good with the ball. But, like the coach said, we have to stay in the low block and play good defence, and then we would get our chances."

Gérald Baticle, France coach: "We started badly. We wanted to get into the game and build our system. We tried to play well but made two mistakes. Germany exploited them well. It then became very difficult. They had the possibility to keep the ball and make us run. I'm proud of the players' commitment and the quality we saw in the game. We showed technical, tactical and mental quality. There was a very high strength of character that brought us to the semi-finals. This international tournament will serve my young players well."

Castello Lukeba, France defender: "It's very disappointing because I think we deserved better today. Unfortunately we didn't score and we made some mistakes, and the game was difficult to come back into. We just needed to score early in the second half but we didn’t, so that's why we lost the game."

Germany enjoy reaching the finalUEFA via Getty Images

Key stats

• Germany have now won six of their seven U21 EURO semi-finals and have reached a fourth final in five editions.
• They have also lost only two of their last 14 games at U21 EURO final tournaments.
• France have now lost five of their last seven U21 EURO semi-finals.
• Germany still have a 100% record at these finals, having been the only team coming into the semi-finals to have won all their four previous matches.

Line-ups

Germany: Atubolu; Collins, Rosenfelder (Oermann 11), Arrey-Mbi, Brown; Nebel (Siebert 88), Martel, Reitz (Wanner 88); Knauff (Gruda 72), Woltemade, Weiper (Röhl 72)

France: Restes; Magassa, Doukoure (Diouf 74), Lukeba; Sildillia, Cisse (Agoume 78), Lepenant (Tchaouna 64), Merlin; Odobert (Lemarechal 64), Abline (Barry 46), Tel

What happens next?

Germany will play England in the U21 EURO final in Bratislava at 21:00 CET on Saturday 28 June.