HSV youngster Stange shines for Germany U19! | OneFootball

Otto Stange is a regular part of Germany’s U19 national team and once again drew attention to himself in the match against Sweden.

On Wednesday evening, the DFB team opened its European Championship qualifying tournament against Sweden in Dreieich, Hesse. Otto Stange was in head coach Christian Wörns’ starting lineup and impressed across the board. In the 40th minute, the forward made it 1–0 after a fine individual effort (from 38:30 in the video), beating his marker and firing the ball in under the crossbar.

After Sweden’s temporary equalizer, the Hamburg-born attacker responded with a determined solo run that ended with a layoff for Leverkusen’s Montrell Culbreath, who restored the lead in the 80th minute. Even so, Germany missed out on an opening win. With the final action of the match, Yannick Geiger curled a free kick from around 20 meters into the net to make it 2–2.

Photo: IMAGO

Stange living his “childhood dream” at HSV

That means Germany will be under pressure on Saturday against Greece, who drew 1–1 with Austria. After all, only the group winner will qualify for the final tournament in Wales this summer. German hopes also rest on Stange, who has scored five goals in his first six appearances for the U19s. At HSV, he has so far played only a minor role, but has at least recently been used several times as a substitute.

Each time, the 19-year-old has made an impact, leading many fans to call for him to get more playing time. For now, at least publicly, he is not making any major demands himself. “My childhood dream is coming true,” Stange recently emphasized in an interview with Abendblatt. “I can grasp it better now, but it still feels special. For example, our final training session often takes place in the stadium. When everything in the stands is suddenly full the next day, it’s pretty intense,” he explained.

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In the coming days, Stange will have to prove himself again in front of much smaller crowds, just like in his youth. Germany’s match against Sweden was watched by only 895 spectators. But the Volkspark, packed with 57,000 fans, is already back in sight for the crowd favorite. On Easter Saturday, HSV host FC Augsburg.

Photo: IMAGO

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇩🇪 here.