Missed out on Euro title, but HSV talent Stange can still smile! | OneFootball

Otto Stange fired Germany’s U19s into the final with his goals, but could not prevent the defeat against Spain.

He had a tough time of it in Wrexham, Wales. After all, the German side that had lost 0-4 in the group-stage meeting marked by heavy rotation on both sides adopted an extremely defensive approach, at times defending with six men on the last line. Spain had up to 70 percent possession but initially found no solutions. On top of that, they were immediately put under pressure after one of Germany U19’s few forward moves. Stange did not hesitate for long and pulled the trigger, but Manu González saved his shot, which was too central (10’).

The Hamburg talent remained Germany’s lone attacking outlet afterward as well. After around half an hour, he almost single-handedly finished off a counterattack. With a turn, Stange beat two Spanish defenders at once, but again could not get past González, who cleared with a foot save. It was only toward the end of the first half that Spain also began creating chances and took the lead in the 44th minute through Hugo López after one of their few successful combinations.

Photo: Getty Images

U19 Euros: Stange wins the Golden Boot!

Shortly after the restart, Mario Rivas made it 2-0 with a header from a corner (48’). Germany missed the chance to pull one back quickly through Moritz Reimers — still under contract with HSV until June 30. The post and goalkeeper González denied him. Stange, meanwhile, no longer made an impact in the second half. Also because, somewhat surprisingly, he had to make way for Jykese Fields after 65 minutes.

The Hamburg forward — one of the standout players in the Germany team over the course of the tournament and, even this evening, making almost the very best of his just 15 touches — reacted almost in disbelief to being substituted by coach Christian Wörns. From the bench, he had to watch as his teammates carved out one or two more chances, but could not convert them.

Nur die Raute – by HSV fans for HSV fans

Spain were thus crowned thoroughly deserved European champions after an impressive run of five wins and a goal difference of 19:0. For Stange, alongside the silver medal, there was a very valuable consolation prize. He shared the top scorer title with José Luis Morante — both finished with four goals and one assist — and was presented with the Golden Boot. With that boost, the Hamburg-born forward will head into pre-season with his beloved club and try to maintain the strong form he showed at the U19 Euros.

Photo: IMAGO

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