Captain Kevin Volland fires U21s to victory in Ireland

In a small town in the north-west of Ireland, the clear difference between the two teams was their composure in front of goal. Twelve minutes into the game, and Moritz Leitner scored the opening goal with Germany's first shot. The home team then missed two good chances to equalise before Kevin Volland made them pay with a quick-fire double. In the 22nd and the 24th minute, the TSG attacker scored two headers, setting Germany up for a win.

Despite his brace, Volland was self-critical when he spoke to Eurosport after the game: “I didn't play my best game today, but I did score two goals and we kept a clean sheet again. We've got six points and that's impressive.“

Hofmann has the final word

With a clear lead, the Germany U21 side controlled the game in the second half. Their dominance increased when Samir Carruthers was sent off for a second yellow card shortly after the hour mark. Shortly before the end of the game, Philipp Hofmann (FC Ingolstadt) made it 4-0 and completed the perfect start to their European Championship qualification in Group 6.

The next game for the U21 side is on October, 11th in Wiesbaden when they face Montenegro. Four days later, they will play the Faroe Islands in Kassel. The group winners and the four best second-placed teams will reach the playoffs for the finals in the Czech Republic in 2015.