HSV youngster Stange shines for Germany U19! | OneFootball

Otto Stange is an integral 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 campaign 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 solo effort (from 38:30 in the video), shaking off his marker and blasting the ball in under the crossbar.

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

Photo: IMAGO

Stange living out “childhood dream” at HSV

That leaves Germany under pressure against Greece on Saturday, after the Greeks drew 1–1 with Austria. In the end, 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 provided flashes of quality, leading many fans to call for longer appearances. For his part, at least publicly, he is not making any major demands at the moment. “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, that’s pretty intense,” he explained.

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

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