Sankt Michael (dpa/sn) - The Sorbian football team is in the semi-finals of the European Championship for National Minorities (Europeada) for the first time. On Thursday evening, the team defeated the team from Croatian Serbia 3-1. The League of Lusatian Sorbs (Domovina) spoke of a "historic victory" on Friday. The heads of government of Brandenburg and Saxony, Dietmar Woidke (SPD) and Michael Kretschmer (CDU), had pushed the team with a video message before the quarter-finals. Kretschmer wished him every success in Sorbian (Wjele wuspěcha).
The Sorbs took the lead in the 4th minute. Christian Rinza from the Briesen/Dissen syndicate converted a cross from Jonas Krautschick. After equalizing before half-time, the Sorbs were able to secure victory in the second half with two goals from Rinza within two minutes. The Carinthian Slovenes, the minority of Slovenes living in Austria, are now waiting in the semifinals. In a way, they have a home game in the village of Zell. The tournament will be held in Carinthia and one location in Slovenia.
