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Sidney Sam

Germany's hopes of reaching the 2011 European Under-21 Championship finals hang in the balance as Germany sit third in Group 5, eight points adrift of pacesetters Czech Republic and five behind surprise package Iceland. The ten group leaders as well as the four best runners-up will qualify for the competition in Sweden next year.

While Tobi Sippel did not pull on national colors because of a minor injury, Sidney Sam played the full 90 minutes. A 4,800 crowd at the Magdeburg Stadium saw an eventful game with Germany taking the lead twice thanks to goals by Timo Gebhart (10) and Julian Schieber (50). Nevertheless, Adrion’s team was frustrated by Iceland as Kolbeinn Sigthorsson (13) and Bjarni Thor Vidarsson (77) equalized.

Gebhart could have scored the critical goal with 90 minutes on the clock, but Iceland managed to clear on the goal line. Sidney Sam displayed a strong performance but was missing the crucial luck too as he failed to convert his scoring opportunities (72, 75, 84).

The second leg fixture against Iceland will be played on August 11, 2010. Adrion’s team now needs to win the next three matches to keep the hopes of a place in the European Under-21 Championship alive.