Ilkay Gündogan, 31, always gets rest breaks at Manchester City, but his provisional record for the season already totals 33 appearances. The hunt will continue at the weekend, for the test match against Israel in Sinsheim the national coach has already given him a place in the starting XI, underlining the seriousness of the occasion. The game in Hoffenheim’s living room is one of the last opportunities for large-scale test arrangements, since after the game against the Netherlands on Tuesday, the other six international matches before the World Cup are all in the competition rank (it’s about the Nations League). However, according to those responsible, this does not reduce the importance of the Israel game. Gündogan even classifies it as “extremely important” because of its symbolic meaning.
A series of failures in the squad nevertheless creates the space for selected experiments. So now – finally, as can be said – the hour has come for Nico Schlotterbeck’s debut: He was one of the first selections that the new national coach Hansi Flick assembled in September, but so far his regular place has been the reserve bench, five times he stayed as a spectator, with the International round in November he missed injured. But even without an international match, the 22-year-old SC Freiburg defender has become an attraction in the Bundesliga. The fact that FC Bayern and Borussia Dortmund are interested is more than just a rumor. He himself describes his whereabouts in Freiburg as rather unlikely.
The ease with which Schlotterbeck comments on his increased share price in media talks expresses a healthy self-confidence that is reflected in his style of play. A certain exuberance can also be seen from time to time when he leaves his position with big strides to go on an adventure tour with the ball, and Flick has also discovered that Schlotterbeck is “sometimes a bit comfortable”, but that doesn’t worry the national coach : “We’re working on that, and Christian Streich is also working on that.”
Captain Manuel Neuer may not be feeling well on Saturday night. Flick will not fulfill his wish to be in goal for every game. The coach has promised the reserve goalkeepers Marc-André ter Stegen and Kevin Trapp a half-time mission. Attacker Timo Werner can also count on Flick sending him on a goal hunt on Saturday. In contrast to Gündogan in Manchester, Werner has recently been underemployed at Chelsea.