Germany vs. England live ticker: U21 fights for group victory at European Championship

England: Beadle - Hinshelwood, Quansah, Cresswell, Iling-Junior - Anderson, Scott - Nwaneri, Elliott, Hutchinson - Rowe

Germany: Ernst - Baum, Oermann, Siebert, Ullrich - Röhl, Jander - Knauff, Wanner, Thielmann - Weiper

8:00 p.m.: With Germany already through to the European Championship quarterfinals, national coach Di Salvo makes a full change to the starting eleven. As expected, Ernst starts between the sticks. The ailing Atubolu is out. Wanner, Knauff, Thielmann, and Weiper start up front. Goalscorer Woltemade is rested for the time being.

4:22 p.m.: Welcome to the live ticker from FOCUS online. The impending injury of regular goalkeeper Noah Atubolu could mean a big European Championship night for the new number 2. With the Freiburg goalkeeper ill and Manuel Neuer's stand-in Jonas Urbig in the USA for the Club World Cup with FC Bayern, Hertha goalkeeper Tjark Ernst can look forward to his second international match for the U21s.

"He's improved over the last year and a half. You can see that his time at a traditional club, where things haven't always gone well, has helped him mature and improve," said U21 national coach Antonio Di Salvo ahead of tonight's match (9:00 p.m./Sat.1) against England in Nitra. The third goalkeeper in the squad is Fürth's Nahuel Noll, who has yet to make an international appearance for this team.

Ernst, son of former Bundesliga goalkeeper Thomas Ernst, has established himself at the Berlin second-division club. "Especially at a young age, as a young goalkeeper, it's important to have that trust. That you have your back, even if you play a weaker game or if you make a mistake or two," said the 22-year-old before the start of the European Championship. "If it's clearly communicated to you that you're the clear number 1, that obviously makes things easier."

Hertha coach Stefan Leitl had promoted Ernst back to a regular starting goalie. Ernst, a former Bochum player, was Hertha's undisputed number one in goal in 2024, having lost his starting spot to Marius Gersbeck in the meantime. "As a goalkeeper, it's just like that: once you're in, you're in, and then you don't get out so quickly. That's different from being an outfield player," said Ernst, son of longtime Bundesliga goalkeeper Thomas Ernst.

At least at the club level. "It's different at a tournament because all 23 players going to the European Championship are regular starters at their clubs. Everyone has aspirations to play. But it's important that everyone fulfills their role as best they can," said the Hertha goalkeeper, who even made a Bundesliga appearance in May 2023.

With the ill Atubolu, who was absent from the final training session in Modra, Di Salvo didn't want to take "too much of a risk" ahead of this weekend's quarterfinal against Italy or Spain. The Freiburg Bundesliga goalkeeper impressed in the 3-0 win against Slovenia and the 4-2 victory against the Czech Republic .