Germany U20 6-0 Romania U20: Germany return to winning ways in Elite League with Brunner’s hat-trick | OneFootball

Germany U20 lost to their Portuguese counterparts twice in the last international break, but Hannes Wolf called upon a much stronger squad for this month’s games against Romania and Italy.

AC Milan’s new signing David Odogu, and former Barcelona midfielder Noah Darvich made their debuts at this level, while Paris Brunner returned to the side. The Monaco winger puts Germany ahead in Valencia with a clinical finish at the 7th minute.

Romania, who have a couple of German-based players, responded well after the goal. Leece’s striker Jason Kodor was denied by Tim Pfeiffer’s decent save before hitting the post a few minutes later.

However, Germany extended their lead with a splendid individual effort. Taylan Bulut scored his first goal for Germany U20 with a magical curler. The right-back left Schalke to join Besiktas in the summer.  

Brunner missed a couple of good chances, while Pfeiffer made another good stop from Adrian Caragea’s free-kick. Max Moerstedt was the next to squander a chance before combining with the two goal scorers for Germany’s third of the day.

Hoffenheim’s striker headed Bulut’s throw-in into the unmarked Brunner, and the former Borussia Dortmund winger scored his fifth goal for the U20s. Moments later, Romania’s goalkeeper Codrut Sandu denied the lively Brunner, but the 2023 U17 World Cup top-scorer did complete his hat-trick before the break as he capitalized on Odogu’s through pass.

Once a highly-rated prospect at Dortmund, Brunner has only played three games for Monaco since returning from his loan spell at Cercle Brugge. Meanwhile, Darvich, who was the captain in the U17 World Cup triumph, is yet to play for the first team of VfB Stuttgart after his summer transfer from Barcelona.

However, both players showed their class in the first-half against Romania. Adrian Iencsi’s side made two half-time substitutions, while Sean Dulic replaced the debutant Odogu. In comparison to the first 45 minutes, the second-half was a very quiet encounter with few clear-cut chances at either end. Pfeiffer had a brilliant game in sunny Valencia as he made two more big saves to keep a deserved cleansheet.

Before Darvich clipped the crossbar in the 76th minute, Germany’s best chances came from shots on target by the goal scorers. Substitute Rafael Lubach came close to scoring before setting up Germany’s fifth goal for Moerstedt.

Darvich also finished the game with a debut goal from the penalty-kick after the fleet-footed Benjamin Boakye fouled inside the box. Romania's goalie prevented a seventh goal by denying substiute Laurin Ulrich in the last meaningful action of the game.

Germany U20 will play their final 2025 fixture against Italy on Monday. They currently sit second in the U20 Elite League standings. Brunner leads the scoring charts with six goals.