Youssoufa Moukoko dismissed his latest goalscoring record as "worthless", believing he is still yet to achieve "anything concrete".

Borussia Dortmund teenager Moukoko has set a number of new benchmarks since making his senior debut last November.

That bow, the day after his 16th birthday, made the forward the youngest ever player in the Bundesliga, while he became the competition's most junior scorer in December.

Moukoko's Champions League debut 10 days before his strike against Union Berlin had seen him make history as the youngest player to appear in Europe's elite club competition.

And there was another record to add on Thursday when he belatedly made his Germany Under-21 breakthrough, a first appearance delayed by injury last season.

At 16 years and 268 days, Moukoko became Germany U21s' youngest debutant and scorer, netting twice in a 6-0 win at San Marino in qualification for the 2023 U21 European Championship.

Moukoko scored twice in the space of less than two minutes late in the first half, two of nine shots before he was substituted with 17 minutes remaining.

On Friday, the striker told the DFB's website there were "several moments in the game where I should have done better" and he would now "work on my weaknesses".

"It felt really good [to score]," Moukoko added. "I've already gotten plenty of texts and saw that I'm the youngest player to ever score for the U21s.

"Of course, I'm very proud of that, but a record like that is worthless at the end of the day. Instead, it's more of a motivation for me to continue to work hard."

Reflecting on the past year, he said: "There were many highs and lows, such as my injury in March. But that didn't set me back. Instead, it motivated me to come back even stronger.

"In the beginning, it was hard to accept that I'd be forced to take a break for a while, but I was able to refocus on my rehabilitation after a few days.

"I was very proud to debut in the Bundesliga and to score, just like I was yesterday. I worked hard to get here.

"But I still haven't achieved anything concrete. My journey is just beginning and it's far from being over."

Lukas Nmecha scored the trophy-winning goal as Germany beat Portugal 1-0 in the European Under-21 Championship final. 

The Manchester City striker, who spent the 2020-21 campaign on loan at Belgian side Anderlecht, scored early in the second half to ensure Germany claimed the trophy for the third time, following 2009 and 2017 triumphs.

It made Nmecha the outright top scorer in the tournament with four goals.

Portugal, who carved out just one shot on target in Ljubljana, have now finished as runners-up in the competition on three occasions.

Tiago Tomas flashed an effort wide early on, while Manchester United defender Diogo Dalot twice went close inside the opening 15 minutes as Portugal started brightly.

Florian Wirtz, who scored twice in the semi-final win over the Netherlands, went agonisingly close to handing Germany the lead after 15 minutes when his deflected effort from outside the penalty area crashed back off the underside of the crossbar.

Portugal goalkeeper Diogo Costa was called into action soon after to deny Nmecha and Arne Maier as Germany found their footing in the game.

Germany then deservedly went ahead in the 49th minute when Nmecha latched onto Ridle Baku's superb pass, rounded Costa and rolled into an empty net.

Substitute Karim Adeyemi squandered a golden opportunity to double Germany's advantage 18 minutes from full-time, firing straight at Costa after picking Dalot's pocket, before the Portugal goalkeeper kept out Nmecha's powerful drive from distance.

Adeyemi was denied again by the excellent Costa late on, but it mattered little in the end as Stefan Kuntz's side saw the game out with the minimum of fuss to spark jubilant scenes.

Florian Wirtz scored twice in eight minutes as Germany beat the Netherlands 2-1 to book their place in the European Under-21 Championship final, where they will face Portugal.

Matters went from one extreme to the other for the Netherlands, who beat France in the quarter-finals thanks to a last-gasp goal from Myron Boadu but found themselves behind inside the first minute when Wirtz converted Lukas Nmecha's cross.

Rising Bayer Leverkusen star Wirtz followed up the fastest goal in Euro Under-21 finals history with his second soon after, drilling home from inside the box after good work from Ridle Baku.

Mergim Berisha hit the post with a free-kick as Germany threatened to run away with the semi-final. The Salzburg man cursed his luck twice more on the hour mark, a fierce strike crashing off the post before a header again came off the woodwork seconds later.

Perr Schuurs steered the ball home from close range with 67 minutes played but a comeback never looked too likely as Germany reached a third successive final, equalling the record set by Italy between 1992 and 1996.

They will now meet Portugal, who have won all three of their previous meetings with Germany in this competition, following their 1-0 win over Spain.

The holders had 20 shots to their opponents' six, with Marc Cucurella hitting the woodwork, but they were undone on the break with 10 minutes remaining when Fabio Vieira's delivery struck Jorge Cuenca and looped in.

It was Spain's first Euro Under-21 defeat, including qualifying matches, since 2019.

European Under-21 Championship favourites France were knocked out as the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain and Germany claimed semi-final spots.

France, boasting a squad littered with senior internationals that included some of the hottest prospects in European football, lost 2-1 to the Netherlands thanks to Myron Boadu's last-gasp goal.

Dayot Upamecano, who will play for Bayern Munich in 2021-22 following his move from RB Leipzig, opened the scoring for Les Bleus, but Boadu equalised early in the second half.

And despite finishing with 14 attempts – six of them on target – France suffered a disappointing exit when Boadu finished on the counter in the 93rd minute, Houssem Aouar having headed a glaring chance over at the other end.

That game was the only one on Monday not to go to extra time.

Two goals from substitute Javier Puado put holders Spain through at the expense of Croatia, who had equalised through Luka Ivanusec's 94th-minute penalty.

Portugal and Italy then played out an eight-goal thriller.

Dany Mota's brilliant double – which included an exceptional overhead kick to break the deadlock – put Portugal into a commanding lead, only for Italy to hit back through Tommaso Pobega.

Goncalo Ramos' goal seemed to have settled the contest, yet Gianluca Scamacca and Patrick Cutrone made it 3-3 at the end of 90 minutes.

However, Matteo Lovato's second booking dented Italy's chances in the first extra period, setting the stage for Jota and Francisco Conceicao to seal a 5-3 win for Portugal, who will face Spain in the last four.

The other tie was settled by penalties, Germany and Denmark having finished level at 2-2 after 120 minutes.

It required sudden death in the spot-kick scenario too, but Victor Kristansen saw his effort saved before Paul Jaeckel made no mistake to seal a 6-5 shootout win, with the Netherlands coming next for the 2019 finalists.

 

Spain and Italy have joined fellow heavyweights Netherlands and Germany in the European Under-21 Championship quarter-finals.

All four sides picked up the results they required in Tuesday's final round of fixtures in Groups A and B to advance through to the knockout stages later this year.

Germany were pushed all the way by Romania in one of the early kick-offs, a goalless draw in Budapest enough to send the 2019 runners-up through on goal difference at Romania's expense.

Romania, now unbeaten in their last seven group matches in the competition, hit the post through Alexandru Matan in the first half and had a shot blocked on the line.

But a point apiece was just about the right outcome in the end as Amos Pieper was also denied by the frame of the goal in the second half and Lukas Nmecha missed a penalty.

The Netherlands had far less trouble seeing off tournament joint-hosts Hungary as they ran out 6-1 winners at MOL Arena Sosto to pip Germany to top spot in Group A by virtue of a superior head-to-head record.

Dani de Wit opened the scoring three minutes before half-time and Cody Gakpo, who set up that goal, scored two of the Netherlands' five second-half goals

Myron Boadu was also on target from the penalty spot for the Netherlands, before Sven Botman and substitute Brian Brobbey got in on the act late on, rendering Bendeguz Bolla's own spot-kick little more than a consolation. 

Holders Spain had a couple of second-half Dani Gomez goals to thank for their 2-0 win over the Czech Republic, who required a victory in Celje to keep their tournament participation alive.

The Levante forward was brought on with 65 minutes played and did not take long to do what his team-mates could not in breaking down a stubborn Czech side after being teed up by Ander Barrenetxea.

Gomez volleyed in a second nine minutes later and that proved enough to seal first place in Group B, despite an emphatic 4-0 win for Italy in their meeting with Slovenia at Stadion Ljudski vrt.

Record five-time winners Italy were two goals ahead inside 19 minutes via clinical finishes from Giulio Maggiore and Giacomo Raspadori, which Patrick Cutrone added to from the penalty spot six minutes later.

Cutrone missed a second spot-kick on the verge of half-time, though it ultimately mattered little as he bagged an impressive second five minutes into the second period.

The only negative for Italy was substitute Riccardo Marchizza's late dismissal after receiving two yellow cards - the centre-back's second sending-off in this year's tournament.

Spain, Italy, Germany and the Netherlands will discover their quarter-final opponents on Wednesday when the final round of group fixtures take place, with the knockout stages to begin in late May.

Spain were made to wait for a place in the quarter-finals of the European Under-21 Championship as they were held to a goalless draw by nine-man Italy after Romania broke Hungary hearts.

Holders Spain had not failed to score in 26 Euro U21 matches, but the holders fired a blank at Stadion Ljudski vrt in Maribor on Saturday.

Italy had Gianluca Scamacca and Nicolo Rovella dismissed for second bookable offences in a dramatic finale, while Spain's Oscar Mingueza was also sent off as tempers flared.

Davide Frattesi's shot was tipped onto the crossbar by Spain goalkeeper Alvaro Fernandez in a stalemate that leaves Spain two points clear of Italy and the Czech Republic in Group B.

The Czech Republic needed a late Nik Prelec own goal to secure a 1-1 draw that was a hammer blow to co-hosts Slovenia after Aljosa Matko opened the scoring in the first half.

Spain will be expected to get the job done when they face the Czech Republic on Tuesday, with battling Italy well placed to advance ahead of their encounter with Slovenia.

Romania shattered Hungary's hopes of qualifying by coming from behind to beat the co-hosts 2-1, moving up to second in Group A.

Andras Csonka put Hungary in front after 56 minutes at the Bozsik Arena despite Adrian Szoke's first-half dismissal for two bookable offences, but Alexandru Matan and Alex Pascanu won it late on.

Germany lead the way after Lukas Nmecha salvaged a 1-1 draw against the Netherlands, who took the lead through Justin Kluivert at Sostoi Stadion in Szekesfehervar.

The Netherlands are two points adrift of Germany and Romania, who meet on Tuesday when the Dutch take on Hungary.

Spain and Germany eased to 3-0 wins over Slovenia and Hungary respectively in their opening 2021 European Under-21 Championship fixtures on Wednesday.

Holders Spain found Slovenia tough to break down before Javier Puado and Gonzalo Villar struck in the space of 108 seconds early in the second half.

Igor Vekic made eight saves to keep Slovenia in the game, but Juan Miranda added a late third to get Spain's title defence off to a positive start in Maribor.

Germany's clash with Slovenia's fellow co-hosts Hungary panned out in a similar manner, with the 2019 runners-up failing to find a way through until just after the hour mark.

Anderlecht's on-loan Manchester City forward Lukas Nmecha continued his fine form by powering in a header to break Hungary's resolve and Bote Baku, who assisted that goal, added a quickfire double to seal the win.

The other Group A fixture between Romania and the Netherlands finished 1-1 thanks to Andrei Ciobanu's impressive free-kick to cancel out Perr Schuurs' opener.

The Netherlands, competing in this tournament for the first time in eight years, had to hold on towards the end to claim a point against the 2019 semi-finalists in a cagey contest.

Wednesday's other match also finished 1-1, although Italy had two players sent off late on against the Czech Republic.

Gianluca Scamacca opened the scoring with a composed finish after 31 minutes, but the Czechs fought back well and levelled through an unfortunate Giulio Maggiore own goal.

Italy then had Sandro Tonali sent off six minutes from time for kicking out at Ondrej Sasinka, while Riccardo Marchizza followed in added time for a foul on Vaclav Drchal, earning a second yellow card.

The disappointing stalemate for the nine-man Azzurri leaves them two points behind early Group B leaders Spain.

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