An old rivalry will be rekindled on Monday, as Germany face neighbours Austria in the UEFA European Under 19 Championships. It's fair to say that the senior sides have thrown up some memorable games, whether that be high-scoring encounters in the past or the opposite, and the infamous, 'Disgrace of Gijón'. However, the youngsters will be aiming to emulate the more entertaining matches, with only three of the 38 ties having finished goal-less, excitement should be guaranteed in Budapest.
Both sides have been impressive in the tournament, with the two teams having dropped points on just a single occasion. Unfortunately for Austria, those dropped points came in the form of a late 2-1 defeat to Portugal. That result meant they would finish behind the imperious Portuguese, thus setting up a date with Germany. 'Die Nationalmannschaft' won their final game 2-0, against Bulgaria, to confirm themselves as group winners. The Germans dropped their only points in a game that they really should have lost; as Niklas Stark scored a last gasp equaliser to earn a 2-2 draw with Serbia.
The Austrians will be keen to show they are no pushovers; with Austria Wien's Sascha Horvath providing the creative spark in midfield and Werder Bremen's Florian Grillitsch there to finish things off, the pair could spur them on to victory. That means it'll be a battle between the Bremen strikers on Monday evening, with Davie Selke spearheading the German attack. Selke, who has five goals in three games, is the tournament's joint top-scorer and will be hoping to add to his tally against his club-mate.
While the emphasis will be on the flamboyant attacking players, Germany's defence is much stronger than their Austrian counterparts and they will be hopeful that it can prove the deciding factor. Germany coach Marcus Sorg emphaised this, after their win over Ukraine, "It was very important for us to be so organised because Ukraine are very structured in their defensive play. We needed to be as well to break through. We've scored early goals against Bulgaria and Ukraine now: you can't plan for that but I'm very pleased, it's a good victory," Sorg told UEFA.com, as he heaped praise on his star striker, "That's why Davie Selke plays up front, that's what he's there for; if he hadn't scored, someone else would. We've worked on our structure, moving the ball better and our organisation – but it would be horrible if we didn't still have things to improve."
Marc Stendera, who was extremely impressive in the group stages and set-up Davie Selke for his first goal, also spoke of the tough test Ukraine provided, "It was a tough game, a game of patience, we knew that much beforehand. The Ukrainians sat very deep and they were waiting for error on our part. For us it was more important to play smart and go forward patiently, trying to find the gaps was an unnecessary risk. And that worked out well. This is my job," said the humble 18-year-old to the DFB. "I like the way we work as a team. It does not matter who scores the goals or who assisted them. We know that we need to work collectively."
It's likely that Sorg will name an unchanged starting eleven to the one than picked apart Ukraine; with the impressive trio of Stendera, Hany Mukhtar and Julian Brandt likely to cause constant problems for the Austria defence. However, it'll be the number nine shirt of Selke that will provide the most cause for concern. Scoring five goals in the tournament and a further five in the qualifying campaign, only Portugal's André Silva (11) has more to his name. Captain Niklas Stark, Marc-Oliver Kempf and co. have been equally important, as Germany have conceded just twice so far.
Like their neigbours, having conceded a paltry three times, Austria are sturdy in defence. Marshaled by captain Francesco Lovric, the back four will have to be on point against Germany, so that they can have a chance of letting Horvath and his attacking compatriots let rip. Andreas Heraf, Austria's coach, employed a 4-3-3 formation; with Horvath at the midfield's head, everything good from Heraf's point of view will come from the Wien starlet.
Despite failing to take the lead with a glorious chance, it was a fine performance from a very talented group of youngsters. They'll be hoping to combine forces and re-ignite memories of the famous Hans Krankl, and his side that beat West Germany 3-2 in a game dubbed 'The miracle of Córdoba', earning that group legendary status. A win similar to that would do wonders for Austrian football, as they aim to build with this squad, and the likes of David Alaba, Andreas Weimann and Aleksandar Dragović.
Heraf, the man charged with leading this side, spoke after defeat in the final group game, "Portugal are an extremely strong side, but if there is any defeat you can live with, then it's this one because it doesn't have any repercussions. We are second in the group. With a bit of luck, we would have gone ahead, but you can't concede goals like this against top opponents. All we've got to focus on now is recovering and regaining our energy, but it's no different for anybody else."
What's for sure is that Monday evening will be a cracking game and a great advert for these countries footballing futures. Calling it is much more difficult, and while Germany have a slight edge, Austria will be no pushovers and want to get a leg-up on their rivals.
Predicted line-ups:
Germany XI: Schnitzler; Akpoguma, Kempf, Stark, Holthaus; Öztunali, Kimmich; Mukhtar, Stendera, Brandt; Selke.
Austria XI: Lucic; Brandner, Lovric, Lienhart, Joppich; Rasner, Laimer, Horvath; Blutsch, Bytyqi, Grillitsch.
Quotes via: UEFA.com and DFB.de