Spain and Holland win as Group B brings the heat

Many soccer experts have tabbed Group B in the UEFA Under-21 Championship as the “group of death” due to the powerhouse teams participating in it: Spain, Germany, and the Netherlands, with only Russia relatively weak. Thursday’s opening games, which saw Spain beat Russia 1-0, and Holland squeeze past Germany 3-2, justified the hype.

The first match in Group B featured 2011 Euro Under-21 Champions Spain facing Russia at Teddy Stadium in Jerusalem, while Germany battled Holland in the late night match in Petah Tikva.

Although the Russians held their guard for the first 80 minutes of the match, Spain finally went ahead goal in the 82^nd minute with a strong header by Real Madrid striker Álvaro Morata, and held on to win the match 1-0. The Spanish will gladly take the 3 points as they face Germany in their next match.

As German’s under-21 players warmed up for their match in Petah Tikva, they wore special shirts dedicated to Israel. The shirts read “we feel at home” in Hebrew, and wearing them was a rare move by a visiting country in an international tournament.

With the very complicated history between the two nations, German trainer Adam Beierlorezer felt it was important that Israelis understand that Germany is not the same country it used to be. “It is a serious feeling being in Israel. No one in Germany is proud of our history, so it is important for us to come here and show that things have changed and that we are not the same Germany from 1945,” he said.

Once play got under way, the Dutch started off the match very strong, controlling the tempo for the first 10 minutes, but with time, the Germans were beginning to attack as well.

After several attempts, the Dutch were able to get on board with the first goal of the match in the 23^rd minute, a powerful strike by midfielder Adam Maher. Fourteen minutes later, Georginio Wijnaldum scored to give them a 2-0 advantage.

Shortly after the goal, and desperate to turn Germany’s fortune around, German manager Rainer Adrion sent on forward Kevin Volland and took out striker Peniel Mlapa, to no immediate effect. With a commanding 2-0 lead going into halftime, the Dutch fans roared as their players exited the pitch for the locker rooms.

But one minute into the second-half, Dutch defender Stefan de Vrij allowed German striker Volland to gain possession and pass to Captain Lewis Holtby, who was violently knocked down by Dutch goalkeeper Jeroen Zoet. Zoet was booked for a yellow-card and the Germans were awarded a penalty. Sebastian Rudy nailed it to bring the score to 2-1.

The momentum was with Germany now, especially after another substitution, putting in forward Christian Clemens and taking out Pierre-Michelle Lasogga.

In the 81^st minute, German captain Lewis Holtby came up big again and scored the equalizing goal. But just a couple of minutes from the end of regular time, Dutch midfielder Marco van Ginkel crossed a beautiful corner kick that midfielder Leroy Fer headed in to take a 3-2 lead.

Both teams continued to attack, as the judge awarded four minutes of injury time, but the score remained 3-2 and the Dutch were off to a great start in the tournament.

Dutch journalist Bert Van Der Linden smiled as he summed up: “Usually the Germans win at the last minute, but this time it was us.”

Among the spectators was Johnny van Ginkel, father of Dutch midfielder Marco, who said he firmly supported UEFA’s decision to host the tournament in Israel, and rebuff pro-Palestinian pressure to move it elsewhere. “We find the decision very positive, the boycott doesn’t matter at all and this is a great opportunity for Israel,” he said. As for touring, Van Ginkel said, “We don’t have much time so we want to make sure we visit as much of Jerusalem as we can.”

On Saturday night, Group A action will return, as home nation Israel, desperate for three-points after its 2-2 with Norway on Wednesday, welcomes Italy, and England plays Norway.

Aaron Kalman contributed to this article