P W D L F A Pts
GERMANY 5 4 0 1 17 6 12
N IRELAND 5 4 0 1 7 4 12
HOLLAND 4 3 0 1 14 5 9
BELARUS 5 1 0 4 3 10 3
ESTONIA 5 0 0 5 2 18 0
Revelation
DONYELL MALEN
Holland
Holland’s 4-2 victory in Germany
was very much a red-letter day
for the 20-year-old Oranje
striker, who not only won his
first cap – as a substitute – but
also turned out to be a game-
changer in Hamburg, scoring his
side’s third goal with a nerveless
side-footed finish.
The PSV striker was the first
Dutchman to score on his
international debut for seven
years, matching the feat of
Feyenoord’s Ruben Schaken,
who was on target in a win over
Andorra in 2012.
“I’m a bit speechless,” saidMalen after the Germany game.
“This is a dream for every young
boy and now that it’s come true,
I’m so proud and happy. Gini
[Wijnaldum] set me up perfectly.”
Malen’s career is a strange
mixture of the heady and the
twist in the tale. As a schoolboy
he was a star turn at the Ajax
academy before leaving at 16 to
join Arsenal, where he showed a
great deal of promise, only to
unexpectedly sign for PSV in the
summer of 2017.
Quick, robust and able to play
on either wing, he has been in
outstanding form for PSV this
term, notably netting all five
goals in his side’s 5-0
hammering of Vitesse.- 0 3 .19 N Ireland-Estonia 2-0
- 0 3 .19 Holland-Belarus 4-0
24.03.19 N Ireland-Belarus 2-1
24.03.19 Holland-Germany 2-3
08.06.19 Estonia-N Ireland 1- 2
08.06.19 Belarus-Germany 0-2
11.06.19 Germany-Estonia 8-0
11.06.19 Belarus-N Ireland 0-1
06.09.19 Estonia-Belarus 1- 2
06.09.19 Germany-Holland 2-4
09.09.19 N Ireland-Germany 0-2
09.09.19 Estonia-Holland 0-4
10 .10 .19 Belarus-Estonia
10 .10 .19 Holland-N Ireland
13 .10 .19 Belarus-Holland
13 .10 .19 Estonia-Germany
16 .11.19 N Ireland-Holland
16 .11.19 Germany-Belarus
19 .11.19 Holland-Estonia
19 .11.19 Germany-N Irelandand can play in any number of positions.
He is very hard to control.”
Low does not make a habit of issuing
public non-exclusion orders as it smacks
of the closed shop he wants to avoid at
all costs. But he can be excused for being
so supportive of Gnabry. In 10 games for
Germany, the 24-year-old has scored
an incredible nine goals and he has
been absolutely insatiable in qualifying,
boasting five in five.
“Serge is really doing a great job,”
adds Low. “He’s playing at an extremely
high standard. He’s been outstandingas a goalscorer for us, but that’s not the
only good thing he does. He is superb
at keeping the ball in the attacking third
and combines well with team-mates. His
movement is very good, very clever. He
is always looking for the ball in the space
in front of the opposition defence. As a
focal point, he is tremendously effective.”
Despite operating as a winger for
Bayern, Gnabry is deployed either as a
line-leader, a second striker or out wide
for Germany. Money can’t buy such high-
class adaptability and “keep ’em guessing”
is the Low mantra.GROUP C
Nerveless...MalenPressure...Germany’s
Julian Brandt in action
against Northern IrelandStarter...Gnabry