Tresoldi's hat‑trick steers U21 to a must‑win in their Maltese debut

In the small Centenary Stadium in Attard, a 22-year-old striker is in the spotlight: Nicolo Tresoldi, who makes his debut as captain of the German U21 and immediately leads the team to a required win with a hat‑trick. The 4‑1 (2‑1) win secures the team of DFB coach Antonio Di Salvo the eighth victory in the ninth qualifying match and keeps the Euro ticket still open.

A hat‑trick that makes history

With his goals numbered 14, 15 and 16, Tresoldi climbs into the eternal best‑scorer list and reaches third place. Only Heiko Herrlich (17 goals) and Pierre Littbarski (18) are still ahead of the painter from Bruges, who at 22 already holds a solid position.

More goals during the match

Tom Rothe also contributes to the result by scoring the 32nd goal. Earlier, Basil Tuma had put the surprising runaway Malta on artificial turf in the lead, before the German defence could no longer retain the ball.

Strategy of Antonio Di Salvo

Coach Antonio Di Salvo rotates heavily: alongside the double‑packer Paris Brunner, Dzenan Pejcinovic and Tresoldi remain in the starting eleven, while the team, after the 4‑0 win in Latvia on Saturday, continues to rely on stability.

In the absence of Tom Bischof, who has flown to the senior national team, Tresoldi takes the captain’s armband and declares before kickoff: “Let’s see how many goals I can score today, hopefully many.” The sentence becomes reality immediately, as he capitalises on a rebound after a mis‑pass from Noahkai Banks.

After falling behind in the first half, the German side takes the opportunity to win the ball several times. A quick counter‑attack leads to Roth’s goal, which he heads in easily. Directly after the break, Tresoldi heads the ball from a corner, before later scoring the most beautiful goal of the evening from 17 metres with a free kick.

Thus the team is only one win away from topping the group and can secure the Euro ticket on its own on the coming Tuesday in Bielefeld, provided Greece does not surprisingly lose to Latvia.