National team
Nagelsmann’s wish list: goals, victory and desire for the European Championship
National coach Julian Nagelsmann during the final training session before the Greece test. Photo
© Federico Gambarini/dpa
Now the European Championship is being rehearsed. Nagelsmann’s dream team is expected to show its tournament form against Greece. Sané, Gündogan and a goal-scoring substitute are the focus. And one of them is dealt a hard blow.
Goals, victory, atmosphere – and a lot of European Championship enthusiasm: The wish list of Julian Nagelsmann’s plans for the European Championship dress rehearsal with his tournament eleven, including the Champions League kings Toni Kroos and Antonio Rüdiger, who joined just in time, are long.
Exactly one week before the big opening match against Scotland, the signal will come from Borussia Park in Mönchengladbach this Friday (8.45 p.m./RTL) against Greece that football Germany can look forward to the kick-off of the home tournament full of anticipation and hope. Does Germany have a tournament team again?
“The last test match is simply very important for our self-confidence. We want a spirit of optimism, we want to take our fans with us,” said defensive leader Rüdiger. The 31-year-old, together with leader Kroos, wants to transfer the winning DNA and “killer instinct” of Real Madrid to the national team. The royal duo were missing from the annoying 0-0 draw against Ukraine, as were Dortmund’s Wembley losers Niclas Füllkrug and Nico Schlotterbeck, who are not part of Nagelsmann’s dream team for the European Championship.
Goal guarantors wanted
“We will approach the game against the Greeks in such a way that we want to win,” announced Nagelsmann. On Thursday morning, before the DFB team’s short flight from Nuremberg to Düsseldorf, he watched Kroos and Co. practicing during the final training session in Herzogenaurach. Nagelsmann wants to rehearse the European Championship emergency in Gladbach.
After the abundance of chances against Ukraine, he is delighted that Kroos and Rüdiger can give the team another boost. But Nagelsmann also explicitly highlighted the value of Füllkrug as a classic number nine in the offense. The 31-year-old has the best goal ratio in the DFB squad, eleven goals in 15 international matches. “A ‘Fülle’ would have done us good against Ukraine with his power,” mused Nagelsmann.
The head coach also has an unpleasant task ahead of him on Friday evening. Immediately after the test, Nagelsmann will announce which player he will drop from the provisional 27-man squad. The tournament squad, which will consist of a maximum of 26 players, must be reported to the UEFA umbrella organization by midnight. “It will affect someone who doesn’t deserve it,” said Nagelsmann after intensive discussions with the coaching team.
Who will suffer the bitter European Championship exit?
Who will it affect? Hoffenheim’s Maximilian Beier, who made a great impression with a courageous substitute appearance against Ukraine, including a shot that hit the crossbar. The 21-year-old attacker was initially the first candidate to be cut. Or will Nagelsmann reduce the defensive area by one position by sending Frankfurt’s Robin Koch on vacation early?
A head coach does not think of a squad in terms of the backbenchers in the team, but of the core of the starting eleven plus the biggest challengers. And that is why Leroy Sané is the focus of attention at Borussia Park. After a three-game suspension following the red card in November against Austria and a month without match practice since FC Bayern’s bitter Champions League exit against Real Madrid, Nagelsmann expects proof of performance.
Sané must provide proof of performance
Sané must answer how much he can give the DFB team at the European Championships despite his pubic bone problem. “He won’t be able to play every game for 90 minutes. But Leroy is a player who can make the difference,” said Nagelsmann.
With the 34-year-old Kroos, the question of what he can contribute is no longer relevant, especially after his remarkable comeback performances against France (2-0) and Holland (2-1). Kroos is the central piece in the Nagelsmann puzzle. He can play a maximum of eight games before his announced retirement – including the final on July 14 in Berlin.
Wirtz on leader Kroos: “We can be happy…”
Young star Florian Wirtz showed how much the younger players look up to trophy collector Kroos. “We can be happy that he has decided to support and lead us at the European Championships,” said the 21-year-old Leverkusen double winner.
The captain is also in the spotlight. Ilkay Gündogan is not yet in tournament form. The “perhaps toughest season” of his career at FC Barcelona has left its mark on his body. “I’ve got an extremely high number of minutes under my belt. Now the aim is to be in top shape for the opening game and to be ready to invest everything in the tournament,” he said.
Gündogan: Captaincy is no guarantee of playing time
He does not see the captaincy as a guarantee that he will be a starter in every European Championship match. “I believe that modern football has changed. It is no longer structured in such a way that you say the captain always has to play,” said Gündogan. He also has to “prove himself again and again,” said the 76-time national player. But against the Greeks, who were dramatically defeated by Georgia in the playoff final for a place in the European Championship on penalties, Gündogan wants to help fulfill Nagelsmann’s wish list as a starting eleven player.