DFB young talent
Before the U17 World Cup final: Coach Wück leaves the goalkeeping question open
U17 coach Christian Wück leaves it open whether Max Schmitt will be in goal in the World Cup final. photo
© Marton Monus/dpa
First the European Championship title, now it should also be the World Cup: The German U17 juniors are playing another big football final. Who will keep the goal in the final against France remains to be seen.
“We’ll take a closer look at how far Max Schmitt is, whether he’s back to 100 percent, and then make the decision tomorrow morning as to who’s in goal.” The FC Bayern Munich goalkeeper was unwell during the semi-final win against Argentina. His representative Konstantin Heide from SpVgg Unterhaching parried the first two shots from the spot in the 4-2 penalty shootout.
In revenge for the European Championship final, in which the German Football Association team won the title on June 2nd in Budapest with a 5-4 penalty shootout, the European champions will meet on Saturday (1 p.m. live/RTL and skysport. de and SkySport app) in Surakarta again on France. It is the first World Cup final for the German junior team in 38 years.
“It’s an indescribable experience for us to be able to play the second final within five months, the second time against France. I hadn’t imagined that two European teams would prevail here in Indonesia. But that shows which ones Quality we have in Europe. It will be a final at a high level with a very close result,” said Wück.
According to the coach, the key to German success is the composition of the team and the willingness to accept footballing deficits. “I know what the Germans are envied for, how Germans are viewed abroad. We wanted to go there again. We don’t need players who are good in several positions, we need players who are perfect in one position,” explained the 50-year-old. This also includes defenders who may not always be able to play a pass perfectly, but who are unbeatable in a duel.