Kohler off to a winning start

Antonio Cassano's return for Italy against Jürgen Kohler's Germany was a highlight of last night's Under-21 friendly action across Europe.

Good start
AS Roma starlet Cassano, who did not feature for Italy in the summer's UEFA European Under-21 Championship campaign, played 60 minutes of a match the German visitors won 2-0. Elsewhere, there was a good start for new Scotland U21 coach Rainer Bonhoff with a 1-1 home draw against Denmark while Poland achieved a 1-0 victory against another of the summer finalists, Belgium.

Ace Auer
Germany's triumph in Italy was largely thanks to the efforts of Benjamin Auer. The deadly 21-year-old VfL Borussia Mönchengladbach striker scored in the 33rd and 49th minutes to give new U21 coach Kohler a winning start. Naturally, though, most attention in Grosseto was on Cassano.

'He was excellent'
The 20-year-old, who has been training with Roma in Spain, raised some eyebrows when he left the stadium early after being substituted. But coach Claudio Gentile said he had been given permission, as he was needed back by his club. Of the forward's performance back in national team colours, Gentile was full of praise. "It went well," he said. "He could have scored and he was excellent in creating chances for colleagues.

'Big futures'
For former BV Borussia Dortmund defender Kohler the match was the start of a vital period for Germany, runners-up at the FIFA World Cup and now preparing to host the next edition in four years' time. "We have a lot of footballers with big futures," he said. "They have the opportunity to play themselves into the public eye or set their sights on 2006."

Powerful drive
In Scotland, Bonhoff made an encouraging start as his side battled back from Tommy Bechmann's eleventh-minute goal to finish all-square against the Danes. The Esbjerg fB forward hit an unstoppable drive to open the scoring but the home side, boasting experienced players like Manchester United FC's Michael Stewart and Rangers FC's Stephen Hughes, refused to give up and equalised on the half-hour mark through Kilmarnock FC defender Peter Canero.

Mila magic
In Koszalin, hosts Poland had to wait until the 77th minute before earning victory against Belgium. Sebastian Mila sent the 2,500 fans home happy with a goal that provided a morale-boosting win for the Poles against a Belgium side that reached the U21 finals in Switzerland three months ago. The Belgians are in a period of transition after losing the talented midfield pair Koen Daerden and Jonathan Blondel to the full squad.

Daly delight
Elsewhere, Jon Daly hit a last-minute winner to give the Republic of Ireland a 1-0 victory in Helsinki against Finland and Slovenia earned a 1-0 victory against Croatia thanks to Mitja Hojnik's goal in the 35th minute.