In the Germany U19s camp, everyone is looking to the future. The unfortunate 1-0 defeat to Italy on the opening day has been digested and analysed. Now the focus is on the meticulous preparation for their next opponents Portugal (Thursday, 19:30 CEST, live on Eurosport). After Portugal’s 1-1 draw with Austria, there is a lot up for grabs.
Centre back Lukas Boeder (Bayer Leverkusen) takes one last look back at the Italy match with DFB man Peter Scheffler. He also talks about what the team are looking to do better against Portugal and how his experiences from the U17s EURO 2014 will help him.
DFB.de: Herr Boeder, How did you personally see the game against Italy?
Lukas Boeder: I think that we were the better team over the ninety minutes. Unfortunately, we weren’t able to take any of our numerous chances. We were good defensively, except for one moment, which the Italians took advantage of very clinically. Dominik Reimann does well to block the first shot, and the fact that the rebound has led to a handball and a penalty, is simply bad luck. But that is football: if you don’t do what you need to do up front, you will often be punished.
DFB.de: Are you surprised when you compare the two teams’ performances? On the one hand your strong performance, and on the other, a much weaker showing from the Italians.
Boeder: No, I wouldn’t say I am surprised. I knew beforehand that we were very capable in a match like this, and I wouldn’t call the Italians’ performance weak. They defended in a very intelligent and disciplined manner, and didn’t concede a goal. They also took advantage of a mix-up in our defence very well. Those are the facts. Whether they played well or not, is for people to decide for themselves. I know that we looked very good, but at the end of the day, it just wasn’t effective.
DFB.de: You played for the first time in front of such a huge crowd. How much does that help you on the pitch?
Boeder: When we ran out onto the pitch before the match, I really got a sense of the occasion and it got me really pumped for the match. I also became very aware of the crowd during the national anthem, because almost the entire stadium sang along with us. As soon as the whistle went, I put it out of my mind and focussed completely on the match. The only difference was that we had to shout a bit louder to each other on the pitch, because there was so much noise coming from the crowd.
DFB.de: You formed the centre back pairing alongside Benedikt Gimber. Were you pleased with the defence?
Boeder: I think that we played well. We managed to cut out many Italian attacks and build play well from the back. The only exception was that one attack. There was only ten minutes to play, and so we were pushing everything forward to get a goal. Because of this, we lost our defensive order for a short period of time.
DFB.de: Is that something you will be working on in training before the Portugal game?
Boeder: I am not sure if it is feasible to work on that day after day in training, but we will definitely try to do this better against Portugal. We don’t need to change our entire game. All we need to do is cut out their counter-attacks and be more clinical in attack.
DFB.de: How do you assess the Portugal side?
Boeder: I am sure that the Portugal team will operate much more offensively than Italy. Therefore, we need to be a lot stronger in defence. But this also means that we will have more room to create chances on goal. I am convinced that we will able to take advantage this time round.
DFB.de: You were a little bit groggy after the training camp in Schladming (28th June to 5th July). How did you survive 90 minutes in the midday heat?
Boeder: After the training camp, I had slight muscular problems. I was looked after during our two days off and now I feel back at full fitness.
DFB.de: You competed in the U17s EUROs two years ago in Malta. How are those experiences helping you now?
Boeder: We didn’t have a good tournament in 2014 unfortunately. We were very nervous and weren’t able to live up to our potential. There are five players in the current U19s squad who were there (Lukas Boeder, Max Besuschkow, Benedikt Gimber, Benjamin Henrichs, Phillip Ochs). We talk about our experiences, with the rest of the team as well, and we really want to do things better this time. I don’t put any pressure on myself, but that experience is a big motivation for me. Every experience at a big tournament is good for your development.
DFB.de: So you will definitely want to take part in the U20s World Cup next year in South Korea?
Boeder: For sure. Qualification is our minimum target (The first five teams from the U19s EUROs take part). To achieve this, we need to get at least third place in the group and then win the playoff against third place in Group B. But we are not thinking that far ahead. First we need to beat Portugal, and then we can look further.
DFB.de: Let’s look a little bit further anyway. After the U19s EUROs, you will go straight in to preparation for the 2016/2017 Bundesliga season with Bayer Leverkusen. What are your targets at the club?
Boeder: I want to show my worth from the very first day of the training camp, and obviously I want to play as much as possible. I can only wait and see if I will get the opportunity and what my chances look like.
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In the Germany U19s camp, everyone is looking to the future. The unfortunate 1-0 defeat to Italy on the opening day has been digested and analysed. Now the focus is on the meticulous preparation for their next opponents Portugal (Thursday, 19:30 CEST, live on Eurosport). After Portugal’s 1-1 draw with Austria, there is a lot up for grabs.
Centre back Lukas Boeder (Bayer Leverkusen) takes one last look back at the Italy match with DFB man Peter Scheffler. He also talks about what the team are looking to do better against Portugal and how his experiences from the U17s EURO 2014 will help him.
DFB.de: Herr Boeder, How did you personally see the game against Italy?
Lukas Boeder: I think that we were the better team over the ninety minutes. Unfortunately, we weren’t able to take any of our numerous chances. We were good defensively, except for one moment, which the Italians took advantage of very clinically. Dominik Reimann does well to block the first shot, and the fact that the rebound has led to a handball and a penalty, is simply bad luck. But that is football: if you don’t do what you need to do up front, you will often be punished.
DFB.de: Are you surprised when you compare the two teams’ performances? On the one hand your strong performance, and on the other, a much weaker showing from the Italians.
Boeder: No, I wouldn’t say I am surprised. I knew beforehand that we were very capable in a match like this, and I wouldn’t call the Italians’ performance weak. They defended in a very intelligent and disciplined manner, and didn’t concede a goal. They also took advantage of a mix-up in our defence very well. Those are the facts. Whether they played well or not, is for people to decide for themselves. I know that we looked very good, but at the end of the day, it just wasn’t effective.
DFB.de: You played for the first time in front of such a huge crowd. How much does that help you on the pitch?
Boeder: When we ran out onto the pitch before the match, I really got a sense of the occasion and it got me really pumped for the match. I also became very aware of the crowd during the national anthem, because almost the entire stadium sang along with us. As soon as the whistle went, I put it out of my mind and focussed completely on the match. The only difference was that we had to shout a bit louder to each other on the pitch, because there was so much noise coming from the crowd.
DFB.de: You formed the centre back pairing alongside Benedikt Gimber. Were you pleased with the defence?
Boeder: I think that we played well. We managed to cut out many Italian attacks and build play well from the back. The only exception was that one attack. There was only ten minutes to play, and so we were pushing everything forward to get a goal. Because of this, we lost our defensive order for a short period of time.
DFB.de: Is that something you will be working on in training before the Portugal game?
Boeder: I am not sure if it is feasible to work on that day after day in training, but we will definitely try to do this better against Portugal. We don’t need to change our entire game. All we need to do is cut out their counter-attacks and be more clinical in attack.
DFB.de: How do you assess the Portugal side?
Boeder: I am sure that the Portugal team will operate much more offensively than Italy. Therefore, we need to be a lot stronger in defence. But this also means that we will have more room to create chances on goal. I am convinced that we will able to take advantage this time round.
DFB.de: You were a little bit groggy after the training camp in Schladming (28th June to 5th July). How did you survive 90 minutes in the midday heat?
Boeder: After the training camp, I had slight muscular problems. I was looked after during our two days off and now I feel back at full fitness.
DFB.de: You competed in the U17s EUROs two years ago in Malta. How are those experiences helping you now?
Boeder: We didn’t have a good tournament in 2014 unfortunately. We were very nervous and weren’t able to live up to our potential. There are five players in the current U19s squad who were there (Lukas Boeder, Max Besuschkow, Benedikt Gimber, Benjamin Henrichs, Phillip Ochs). We talk about our experiences, with the rest of the team as well, and we really want to do things better this time. I don’t put any pressure on myself, but that experience is a big motivation for me. Every experience at a big tournament is good for your development.
DFB.de: So you will definitely want to take part in the U20s World Cup next year in South Korea?
Boeder: For sure. Qualification is our minimum target (The first five teams from the U19s EUROs take part). To achieve this, we need to get at least third place in the group and then win the playoff against third place in Group B. But we are not thinking that far ahead. First we need to beat Portugal, and then we can look further.
DFB.de: Let’s look a little bit further anyway. After the U19s EUROs, you will go straight in to preparation for the 2016/2017 Bundesliga season with Bayer Leverkusen. What are your targets at the club?
Boeder: I want to show my worth from the very first day of the training camp, and obviously I want to play as much as possible. I can only wait and see if I will get the opportunity and what my chances look like.
