Youssoufa Moukoko in the U21s: In search of his goalscoring ability

In the U21s, Youssoufa Moukoko once again wants to slip into his favorite role: the goalscorer. "Youssoufa knows that he plays an important role for us. He scored a lot again in the qualifiers," said national coach Antonio Di Salvo ahead of the European Championship qualifiers against Kosovo on Friday and Israel on Tuesday. "Of course we see and know that the last few weeks have been very difficult. He hasn't played much."

The 19-year-old has endured a difficult season at Borussia Dortmund. Moukoko has only scored three goals this season in the Bundesliga, last scoring two months ago. "Now we're trying to give him confidence," said Di Salvo.

Twelve goals in eleven games in the U21s is an impressive rate that the BVB star would like to continue. "We hope that he is as accurate in the games as he was before," said the national coach. "If it were that easy, just pressing a button."

The games on Friday (18:00/ProSieben Maxx) in Chemnitz against Kosovo and four days later in Halle/Saale against Israel are a welcome change, and not just for Moukoko. "It's also good for me to have a change of scenery," said captain Eric Martel - from relegation candidates 1. FC Köln. It's nice to be able to switch off a bit in a different environment.

"I'm focusing on the national team here," said the 21-year-old. "We have two important games ahead of us where we want to lay the foundations to qualify for the European Championship."

The German team is at the top of its qualifying group. Like Germany, Poland have twelve points, but have played one game more. The nine group winners and the three best group runners-up will qualify for the final tournament, which will take place in Slovakia in 2025. The six remaining group runners-up will compete in play-offs to determine the last three finalists.