The dream of defending the title lives on. Even though the Germany U21 side were unable to build on their convincing performances in the previous group matches against Denmark (3-1) and Serbia (6-1) against a battling Austria they do go through to the last four unbeaten.
In front of a 9,000 crowd at the Dacia Arena in Udine (Italy), the two teams were on equal terms from the start of the match: Austria pressed forward early and prevented the Germany junior team playing their normal game – accordingly the opener for Germany came from a long-range effort: A ball from the again very impressive captain Jonathan Tah found Freiburg player Luca Waldschmidt who took a chance and hit the ball from a central position 25 yards out into the top right corner (14').
The 1-0 scoreline did not last long. Austria were awarded a penalty after a foul by the otherwise impressive keeper Alexander Nübel (FC Schalke) and Kevin Danso (FC Augsburg) was able to convert the spot kick (24') – it was the third goal scored from the penalty spot against Germany in the third match at this European Championships. Germany were lucky in added time at the end of the first half when Austria's Sasa Kalajdzic hit the post with a header. The two sides cancelled each other out in the second half with little threat on goal at either end.
The 1-1 draw was enough for Germany to win the group, go through to the semi-finals and thereby qualify for the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo
Germany's opponents in the last four will be determined after the end of the group stage on Monday night.
Bayer 04 Leverkusen will to have manage without forward Eliesse Ben Seghir. The Morocco international suffered a ligament injury in his left ankle before the AFCON final defeat against Senegal (0-1 a.e.t.).
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The VBL Club Championship 2025/26 continues. Tonight, 27 January (live on Twitch and on the Bayer 04 app from 18:00 CET), the Leverkusen eSports team will play the remaining three matches in the online preliminary round of Showdown Four. They are up against FC Kaiserslautern, SC Freiburg and the current club champions and Showdown Three winners RB Leipzig, with whom Bayer 04, club runners-up and Showdown One winners, shared some memorable moments, especially last year. The lowdown on our next opponents.
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Welcome to Leverkusen, Jonas Omlin. Bayer 04 have signed the 32-year-old goalkeeper on loan from Bundesliga side Borussia Mönchengladbach until the end of the season. Managing director sport Simon Rolfes described the Swiss shot stopper, signed by the Werkself in reaction to the long-term absence of first choice keeper Mark Flekken, as an "internationally experienced keeper." Bayer04.de takes a closer look at the new signing, who will wear the number 18 jersey.
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Under the motto ‘Sound of Dreams - #aCROSS Europe 2025/26’, Bayer 04 are turning this season's UEFA Champions League season into a festival. In addition to a Spotify playlist that fans can use to get in the mood for the Champions League nights, there is also a tour pass with stickers for the respective UCL matches exclusively for Bayer 04 Club members. These could be picked up in the respective weeks of the matches. The sticker for the final clash in the league phase (Villarreal, 28 January, 21:00 CET) is now available at the Fanwelt. The competition for all diligent sticker collectors is also now open. Read on for further information.
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