Triple goalscorer Tresoldi shoots the German U21s to victory against Malta

Triple goalscorer Nicolo Tresoldi made the German U21s celebrate their next victory on the way to the European Championship ticket after their initial struggles. The selection of the German Football Association beat hosts Malta 4:1 (2:1) in Attard - after a surprising deficit. After Basil Tuma's goal (9th minute), Tresoldi (11th/47th/69th) and Tom Rothe (32nd) ensured a befitting victory.

“I'm satisfied, even if the game wasn't great,” said the triple packer at ProSieben Maxx. “In the end we got three points and we scored four goals.”

Tresoldi left behind DFB sports director Rudi Völler, among others, in the DFB best list with goals 14, 15 and 16. “It’s not bad,” he said of his haul. Only Heiko Herrlich (17 goals) and Pierre Littbarski (18) are still ahead of him. After the victory, coach Antonio Di Salvo's team still needs a win against Georgia in Bielefeld on Tuesday in order to complete their trip to the finals next summer in Albania and Serbia.

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Di Salvo changed his team to eight positions after the 4-0 win in Latvia, only the strike trio around Tresoldi remained. Of all people, the two debutants Max Weiß from FC Burnley and Noahkai Banks from FC Augsburg came into focus in the 0-1 defeat. Banks lost the ball near the halfway line and White was powerless against the striker from the English fifth division who was running towards him alone. “Maybe the 1-0 win was a wake-up call,” said Leandro Morgalla from FC Salzburg.

Tresoldi demonstrated his goal instinct with the quick reaction. After a shot from Morgalla hit the post, the FC Brugge striker was there. For the first time, Tresoldi led the German U21 onto the pitch as captain in the absence of Tom Bischof. “This is something special for me,” said Tresoldi, who has not yet decided on a national team future in Germany or Italy.

The 2-1 result was symptomatic of the long, imprecise offensive game on the unfamiliar artificial turf in the Centenary Stadium. The ball bounced back and forth in the Malta penalty area - at some point Rothe was successful with his head. After a header and a remarkable free kick from Tresoldi, the game was finally decided in front of around 500 spectators.