Germany v Denmark facts

For the third UEFA European Under-21 Championship running, Germany and Denmark meet in the group stage – with recent history suggesting a tough night for the Danes.

• Germany, the reigning champions, won both of those games 3-0 and will be looking for a positive start to their trophy defence in Udine.

Previous meetings
• Two years ago, second-half goals from Davie Selke, Marc-Oliver Kempf and Nadiem Amiri gave Germany a 3-0 matchday two victory against Denmark in Krakow with Mahmoud Dahoud and substitute Levin Öztunalı also in the victorious side. That result proved crucial in taking the eventual winners through as Group C runners-up behind Italy; Denmark finished third in the section.

• Three-nil was also the score in Prague in 2015, also on matchday two; Kevin Volland scored twice and Matthias Ginter once, all the goals coming in a 22-minute period either side of half-time. Then, however, Denmark finished top of the section with Germany second, although both sides were eliminated in the semi-finals.

• Germany have won the last four fixtures between the sides having also been victorious in two friendlies, most recently a 2-1 success in September 2015; Casper Nielsen's goal in that game is the only one Denmark have managed in that four-match sequence, with 12 conceded.

• Denmark have not avoided defeat against Germany since a 2-2 friendly draw in November 2000.

• The teams' only other competitive fixtures came in the 1994 preliminaries, when each recorded an away win. Christian Ziege's two goals helped Germany to a 4-1 success in Denmark, who were 1-0 victors in their away game.

• A Germany side featuring Öztunalı were 4-0 winners against Denmark, for whom Jannik Pohl was a second-half substitute, in the elite round of their victorious European U19 Championship campaign in June 2014.

Form guide
Germany
• Germany were champions in 2017, their second U21 title following their 2009 success in Sweden. Two years ago in Poland, they finished second in Group C, qualifying for the semi-finals as the best runners-up over the three sections; they beat England 4-3 on penalties in the last four after a 2-2 draw before a Mitchell Weiser goal earned a 1-0 final win against Spain.

• This is the eighth time Germany have qualified for an eight or 12-team final tournament. Aside from their two titles, they were semi-finalists in 2015 and quarter-finalists in 1998. They also reached the last eight in 1990, 1992 and 1996.

• As West Germany, they were runners-up to England in 1982.

• Germany qualified for these finals as Group 5 winners, picking up 25 points from their ten fixtures (W8 D1 L1) and scoring 33 goals – the most of any of the 11 qualified teams, though non-qualifiers Portugal matched that figure. Germany won their last three fixtures, and are unbeaten in seven competitive games (W6 D1).

• A 1-0 loss against Italy on matchday three in 2017 ended Germany's six-match unbeaten run in the final tournament group stage (W4 D2).

• Four members of Germany's squad were in the victorious 2017 party; Öztunalı, Waldemar Anton, Dahoud and Amiri. Anton was a late replacement for Jonathan Tah.

• Öztunalı was also part of the victorious Germany side at the 2014 European U19 Championship in Hungary.

• Lukas Nmecha scored England's winner in both the semi-final and the final at the 2017 European U19 Championship; having switched his international allegiance, the Hamburg-born striker made his Germany U21 debut against England in March.

• Öztunalı was also in Germany's 2014 European U19 Championship-winning squad.

Denmark
• This is Denmark's third successive U21 final tournament, and a fifth participation in the eight or 12-team finals. They were eliminated in the group stage in 2006, 2011 on home soil and 2017, but did reach the semi-finals in 2015, losing 4-1 to eventual champions Sweden.

• Two years ago in Poland, the Danes finished third in Group C behind Italy and eventual champions Germany having collected three points from their three games (W1 L2).

• Denmark have therefore won four of their 12 group stage games in the final tournament overall, losing six.

• A place in the 2015 semi-finals equalled Denmark's most successful U21 campaign; they also reached the last four in 1992 having previously got to the quarter-finals in 1978 and 1986.

• Denmark qualified as the winners of Group 3, with 23 points from ten fixtures (W7 D2 L1), and were unbeaten in their last five games (W3 D2). They scored 30 goals, including at least one in every game.

Links and trivia
• Have played in Germany:
Andreas Poulsen (Borussia Mönchengladbach 2018-)
Asger Sørensen (Jahn Regensburg 2017-)
Jacob Rasmussen (Schalke 2014–16, St Pauli 2016–17)
Jacob Bruun Larsen (Borussia Dortmund 2015-, Stuttgart 2018)

• Bruun Larsen is a Dortmund team-mate of Dahoud.

• Poulsen is a Mönchengladbach team-mate of Florian Neuhaus.

• Jonathan Tah and Lukas Klostermann both played 90 minutes in Germany's 2-0 UEFA EURO 2020 qualifying win away to Belarus on 8 June.

• Robert Skov made his senior Denmark debut on 10 June as they defeated Georgia 5-1 at home in a UEFA EURO 2020 qualifier.