Germany’s first game of the U21 European Championships in the Czech Republic (17th-30th June) against Serbia on Wednesday is drawing ever closer. The second official DFB press conference for the U21s took place at the team hotel in Prague on Monday, this time with Emre Can and Mex Meyer. DFB.de has put together the most important snippets from the presser.
Emre Can on...
... the other group opponents: We’re prepared well for the other teams. We’re watching lots of videos before the game and know the sides well from them.
... Marc-André ter Stegen: We all watched the final together in Austria and crossed our fingers for him. We will do our all to ensure he can take another title home with him this year.
... working with young players in England: It’s very good, what I’ve experienced in Liverpool. The work with youth players in England is very good. England U21s have a really good team too and are favourites. Therefore I hope they don't play us.
... the chance to qualify for the Olympics: We had two Olympic beach volleyball champions with us at the training camp. We want to reach that too as I don’t think there’s been a Germany team there since 1988 – we really want to go to Rio.
... his other position at club level: I play right-back with Liverpool. It’s planned that I’ll play in midfield here.
... his ambitions in the Premier League: I didn’t just come to Liverpool to play football. I want to win trophies there. Therefore, I want to win one first with the U21 team.
... Germany U21s’ defence: It’s already world-class. Timo Horn, Bernd Leno and ter Stegen could all play for the senior side already. I don’t really have any concerns about our defence.
Max Meyer on...
Germany’s first game of the U21 European Championships in the Czech Republic (17th-30th June) against Serbia on Wednesday is drawing ever closer. The second official DFB press conference for the U21s took place at the team hotel in Prague on Monday, this time with Emre Can and Mex Meyer. DFB.de has put together the most important snippets from the presser.
Emre Can on...
... the other group opponents: We’re prepared well for the other teams. We’re watching lots of videos before the game and know the sides well from them.
... Marc-André ter Stegen: We all watched the final together in Austria and crossed our fingers for him. We will do our all to ensure he can take another title home with him this year.
... working with young players in England: It’s very good, what I’ve experienced in Liverpool. The work with youth players in England is very good. England U21s have a really good team too and are favourites. Therefore I hope they don't play us.
... the chance to qualify for the Olympics: We had two Olympic beach volleyball champions with us at the training camp. We want to reach that too as I don’t think there’s been a Germany team there since 1988 – we really want to go to Rio.
... his other position at club level: I play right-back with Liverpool. It’s planned that I’ll play in midfield here.
... his ambitions in the Premier League: I didn’t just come to Liverpool to play football. I want to win trophies there. Therefore, I want to win one first with the U21 team.
... Germany U21s’ defence: It’s already world-class. Timo Horn, Bernd Leno and ter Stegen could all play for the senior side already. I don’t really have any concerns about our defence.
Max Meyer on...
... their opponents Serbia: We’ve set ourselves up well for our opponents. We’ll be ready on Wednesday evening. We know the players, there’s also one from my club in the form of Matija Nastasic. There are only three matches, so we have to pick up points immediately. But the team is up for it and I think we will play positively.
... being possible tournament favourites: We’ve got it all here to take the trophy. It’s hard to say who the big favourite is though now.
... the chance to qualify for the Olympics: You definitely have it at the back of your mind, but we’re only focused on the EUROs. If we play well at the tournament, we’ll qualify for the Olympics through that alone.
... the importance of social media: Of course it’s fun to upload photos. The fans are then always up to date on everything. Even with DFB, they’ve introduced some new things to show how we’re preparing for matches here.
... the emotional value of being with the U21s: The national team is the national team, it’s always something special, whether it be at U17 or U21 level. It’s fun to listen to the anthems before the games.
... the media interest in the tournament: It’s something special for the games to be shown on ARD and ZDF (German television stations), but principally, we’re aware of this pressure scenario from our own clubs.
