27.06.2019 20:48 h

Waldschmidt, Amiri send Germany into Euro U21 final

Luca Waldschmidt and Nadiem Amiri both scored late on Thursday to fire defending champions Germany into the final of the European under-21 championships with a 4-2 win over Romania.

Waldschmidt drew the Germans level at two each from the spot on 51 minutes before putting them in front as the game crept into added time, while Amiri rounded off the scoring in the 94th minute after having opened the scoring with 21 minutes gone in sweltering conditions at Bologna's Stadio Renato Dall'Ara.

Freiburg forward Waldschmidt's strikes took his tally to seven goals in the tournament and mean he has scored in all four games played by the defending champions.

Despite a spirited attack by the Romanians, who made up the majority of fans among the 16,200 crowd, their unprecedented run ends at the final four.

George Puscas had given his side a 2-1 half-time lead with two goals of his own -- the first a penalty after 26 minutes and a powerful header just before the break.

Germany will bid for a third continental title against either four-time winners Spain or France, who play the second semi-final later in Reggio Emilia on a day when temperatures hit 38 degrees Celsius (100.4 Fahrenheit) in Bologna.