Holders cruise to opening success

Germany began the defence of their UEFA European Under-21 Championship crown with a comfortable 6-0 victory against San Marino under new coach Rainer Adrion in their opening Group 5 contest in Aachen.

Early strikes
Deniz Naki's fourth-minute goal settled the early nerves and when Jerome Boateng made it 2-0 on 19 minutes there was only going to be one winner. Two goals in three minutes by Mats Hummels and Julian Schieber doubled the advantage before Benedikt Höwedes made it 5-0 at the interval. Germany lost their way after the break and had Timo Gebhart sent off, but Schieber still added a sixth on 56 minutes.

First-half goals
With three players who featured in the 2009 UEFA European U21 Championship final in Malmo in the starting XI, the holders dominated the game from the beginning and created plenty of chances. Naki, one of four debutants in the initial selection, finished coolly after a fluent move before Boateng carried on his form from the summer with the second. European champions Hummels (31) and Höwedes (41) found the net either side of Schieber's first goal.

Casadei tested
San Marino goalkeeper Federico Casadei made several outstanding saves to keep the score down, though Germany's cause was not helped by Gebhart's 52nd-minute dismissal. Schieber did register again on 56 minutes to complete the rout. On Tuesday, Germany play their second qualifier against section leaders Czech Republic, who have three wins from as many games, in Wiesbaden.