Win and sing: Should everything go to plan, the locker-room will certainly be rocking after the game tonight, as Germany’s U21s celebrate the fact they’ve earned themselves a place in the U21 European Championship final. “It’s not that common to sing together these days. It was something of my grandparents’ generation, but it still strengthens the spirit of the team,” said manager Stefan Kuntz ahead of the EURO semi-final, which takes place in Tychy tonight against England at 18:00 CEST.
We may never know exactly what song has been sung in Germany’s locker-room, but we do know this: hardly anyone knows the full lyrics to said song, and Horst Hrubesch joined in last time round. Germany’s current director of sport also won the U21 European Championship as the manager with a 4-0 victory in the final over England in 2009, and Kuntz will be looking to follow in his footsteps – he’s just two wins away.
Pollersbeck: “We’re starting anew”
“The players know they're playing knockout football now. It’s all or nothing,” remarked Kuntz. The nervy encounter against Italy on Saturday (1-0 loss) is behind them. “What’s in the past is in the past – it’s not important. We’re starting anew, and if our opponents score a goal, then we’ll just have to score two,” said goalkeeper Julian Pollersbeck, who has turned in some strong performances as of late.
All in all, the Germans need to make sure that they raise their game. Kuntz’s XI showed how the robust England squad could be beaten, in an encounter that took place three months ago. The Germany U21s successfully defeated England in a friendly in Wiesbaden, by a score of 1-0 on March 24th. Nadiem Amiri scored the only goal of the game. “I’m not going into the match with any fear, even if it is a semi-final game against England. Yes I respect them, but I never fear an opponent in football,” stated captain Maximilian Arnold.
England practise penalties
England practised their penalties on Monday – in contrast to Germany’s squad. “History shows that Germany don’t have to do that. We do,” said England manager Adrian Boothroyd. His counterpart Kuntz is of the opinion that “the circumstance, the pressure” simply can’t be recreated. Goalkeeper Pollersbeck admitted that he hardly has any experience when it comes to the end of the 120 minutes: “The last penalty shootout I took part in was when I was a youngster playing in an indoor hall.”
The Germans will play their fourth game in nine days today, whilst England have had two extra days to recover since their last group-stage match. As a result, Stefan Kuntz could potentially switch up his starting eleven. Changes could make sense “because of who our opponents are”, but also “because we ourselves see the potential for us to be better,” said the 54-year-old.
Meyer: “England are one of the favourites”
In any case, Germany’s squad are wary. “England are a tough team and one of the favourites of the tournament,” said Max Meyer. England’s youth sides have experienced great success as of late, with the U20s – the so called “Young Lions” – winning the World Cup in South Korea on June 11th, which was the country’s first World Cup title of any sort since 1966. The U17s lost in the European Championship final on penalties to Spain in May as well.
“Overall, England have players with pace, and their efficiency has stood out. That’s what we’ll be up against in the semi-final. We have to avoid giving them lots of chances,” said Kuntz.