The German national team’s trip to the USA ends with a 2-2 draw against Mexico. The defense was still a long way from being in European Championship form!
Niklas Süle (28) in particular had a pitch-black day. Before the 1-1 score, the BVB star (BILD grade 5) allowed himself to be played around by Lozano and outplayed on the outside of the penalty area. He also lost the duel against goalscorer Sanchez before conceding the second goal.
Despite the shaky performance, national coach Julian Nagelsmann (36) defends Süle!
Nagelsmann in an interview after the final whistle on “ARD”: “I protect Niklas, he obviously doesn’t have much rhythm. I gave it to him now. He has only played 17 minutes in the last three games in Dortmund.”
Further: “In the long term, we rate this player very highly. That’s why we decided not to take any regular players from the clubs with us. That he is just there, that he continues to listen to the content. That we also know or he also knows that we are already planning with him. He knows what things he needs to work on. He generally brings everything with him and will hopefully play a key role again both at the club and for us.”
In seven league games so far, Süle has appeared on the pitch five times for Dortmund for a total of 251 minutes. He was only allowed to start in two games and was substituted on three times. In Nagelsmann’s debut against the USA (3-1), Süle also only came off the bench.
ARD expert Bastian Schweinsteiger (39) can’t really understand Nagelsmann’s argument: “The fact that you take players with you and give them rhythm to the national team sounds a bit strange at first, I think.”
Further: “Of course, Julian Nagelsmann has known Niklas Süle since his time at Hoffenheim, including at Bayern Munich, and has always supported him. He’s doing that now with the national team, and you can tell. But of course he also recognizes whether someone makes mistakes or not. And that’s how he evaluates it. In the end he has to find the players he can rely on. And that’s his job as national coach.”
Because of this crazy scene! Mbappé suddenly rushes into the dressing room
Whether Niklas Süle will be in the squad for the European Championships next year (June 14th to July 14th) will be seen in the coming months leading up to the tournament. But with a performance like that in the game against Mexico it certainly won’t be enough…