In Group B, the host German Team lived up to their federation’s expectations, achieving three consecutive victories against three relatively weak opponents.
They are also the only team to maintain an unbeaten record in the European Youth Championship so far.
With nine points, the German Team stands at the top.
However, the other teams in Group B present an interesting scenario, with Serbia and Austria tying against each other, securing their only point.
Denmark, with two wins and one loss, has six points just like neighboring Italy, but their two wins were with a narrow margin. Against Germany, they managed to score two but conceded seven!
There is a reason why German football doesn’t have friends; Denmark finds themselves with a goal difference of minus three, pushed behind Italy, who have a goal difference of zero.
In Group C, Romania has one win and two losses, sitting at the bottom with three points.
Both Portugal and Belgium have one win, one loss, and one draw, standing tied with four points each.
France, with two wins and one loss, leads the group with six points and successfully advances.
Thus, the four semifinal teams are freshly announced.
They are the Invincible Fleet of Spain, the host Germany, the France Black Team, and... the blue melancholy Italy led by Eastern Lu!
Italy miraculously survives!
After a 3-0 defeat in the opening match, they managed to advance from the group of death, leaving everyone astounded.
Due to the rule that teams from the same group cannot face each other in the next round, Italy’s semifinal opponent will be either Germany or France.
Germany’s points are higher than France’s, giving them an advantage, and they will battle against the "weaker" Italy in the semifinals.
Meanwhile, Spain has to take on France.
For a moment, both the German and Italian media are jubilant.
The Italian media are excited because the Italy National Youth Team advanced to the semifinals as the best-performing second-place team in the group stage. This was an unexpected delight for Italy.
Defeating England had already made the entire Italian football community believe that Maniero had accomplished his task.
Even if there were no more matches, no one would deem this European Youth Championship a failure.
Because they defeated the top championship seed!
Even though Italy was eliminated, they proved themselves.
This was a positive change, and that alone was enough.
But no one expected Italy to advance successfully in the end!
This is similar to Denmark and Wales advancing in the European Cup group stage, and Russia and Croatia in the World Cup group stage; every step forward in the future is a surprise and a reward!
Therefore, the Italian media began to overwhelmingly praise Maniero and the players participating in this European Youth Championship.
Among them, Lu Yang, who returned to the front lines "despite an injury," became the center of attention.
"Two matches, four goals, and three assists! It only took Lu Yang two games to lead Italy out of the group stage!"
"Second on the scorers’ list, first on the assists list! Lu Yang’s efficiency is extraordinary, and he is expected to compete for the Golden Boot of the European Youth Championship!"
"A man’s promise! Cortino: Lu Yang told me he won’t let Italy be eliminated in such a dreadful manner!"
"Tearful moment! Lu Yang signaled fans to applaud for Cortino, and his leadership qualities became the key for Italy’s comeback!"
"The harder it gets, the stronger he becomes! Italy’s toughest man isn’t talking about Lu’s fists, but his determination to pursue victory!"
"How can one not love Lu like this? The revival of Italian football cannot do without this eastern youth!"
Similarly, just like the Italian media, the German media celebrate nationwide.
Because compared to Spain, known as the Invincible Fleet, the struggling Italy seems to be an easier opponent to handle.
In fact, even Spain doesn’t intimidate the German Youth National Team.
They are the only team in this tournament with an unblemished winning record so far.
The only one!
This has undoubtedly demonstrated their dominance.
Although no player in the German Youth National Team has scored more than two goals, as many as eight players have found the net!
What does this mean?
This means they have an absolutely multifaceted scoring capability.
In authoritative media forecasts and polls, the German Youth National Team’s winning probability is currently second only to Spain, with not much difference between the two.
Of course, compared to the enthusiastic celebrations of the advancing teams, the England Youth Team finds themselves in an extremely awkward situation this time.
Despite being the top seed, they stumbled and fell in the group stage.
Previously, the English media stated that Lu Yang would appear at the Brit Awards on his birthday.
Now Lu Yang didn’t show up.
Because the Italy Team still has games, Lu Yang cannot come out at this time.
However, the response Lu Yang had asked Sofia to release earlier proved true.
The England Youth Team has returned home, theoretically having plenty of time to attend various entertainment events or commercial invitations.
Moreover, it was Lu Yang himself who personally kicked England out.
If it were any other country’s media, they probably wouldn’t pursue the matter further at this point.
At the very least, they wouldn’t invite members of the youth team who just suffered a Waterloo to attend the Brit Awards.
This would be beating a dead horse.
But the English media did just that.
They actually invited the youth team players to attend the Brit Awards.
This is entertainment to the death.
Perhaps in terms of the news effect, they succeeded.
Even though the Brit Awards is already one of Europe’s most prestigious music events, this edition gained even more attention and traffic as a result.
And the more frightening part is that most players from the England Youth Team accepted the invitation and actually appeared at this music event.