Second game. Second win? On Thursday morning at 9:00 CEST the U20 team takes on Uzbekistan in their second group match. After an 8-1 blowout win over Fiji, the stakes are still the same. A win over a strong Uzbekistan team could very well secure a first place group finish. Uzbekistan is under pressure as they lost their first game against Honduras 4-3.
When Frank Wormuth says that the World Cup just started for the Germany team, it was not an insult to their first opponent Fiji. “Not at all, For Fiji’s first game they played above their standards,” said the U20 coach. We should not get carried away with the 8-1 victory. There is a three way race to win Group F. I watched Honduras against Uzbekistan at the stadium. They are two opponents who are on the same level as us.”
That being said, was the opening win useless? “With our win the three points gave us a lead in Group F,” said Wormuth. “Besides that we also played well offensively. But the second half showed that there is still some work to be done.” Against Uzbekistan the 54-year-old will be expecting “a game in which we need to put much work into.”
Uzbekistan’s fourth World Cup
The Uzbekistan team have never been to the World Cup, but there visit to New Zealand marks their fourth appearance in the U20 edition of the tournament. There greatest success was back in 2013 when they lost 4-0 to eventual champions France in the quarter-finals. The same France team who saw a star blossom in Paul Pogba as the midfielder picked up Player of the tournament. Fast forward two years, and the team from central Asia want to make another run but, it will be a bit more challenging given the fact that they started off with a 4-3 loss against Honduras.
Despite the loss, the Uzbek’s have the potential to shock Germany. Rayshan Khaydarov’s team have a very compact defence, which can transition into a fast attack that plays balls over the top. Attacking wise, they play with three strikers who terrorizes opposing defenders with their pace. Star of the team is striker Zabikhillo Urinboev who shot five goals in four qualifying games. Additionally,
German eleven unchanged
Since the Uzbek’s team have different tactics, Germany practiced defending long balls and counter attacking football. “We want to apply as much pressure as possible on Uzbekistan, so they cannot play the game that they are used to,” said Wormuth. Despite having Pascal Köpke and Jeremy Duziak to rely on, the team will remain unchanged.
Köpke, who replaced injured striker Tim Kleindienst would be an alternative in the Germany strike force. In 31 third division games, the son of goalkeeping legend Andy Köpke scored 11 goals. Dudziak on the other hand, recently joined his team after travelling to Berlin with Borussia Dortmund for the DFB Cup. “We will be careful when relying on Jeremy. He did well in training but still has some jet lag,” said Wormuth.
The three attacking positions will still belong to Julian Brandt, Levin Öztunali and Hany Mukhtar. “Without our leading strikers Davie Selke and Tim Kleindienst, we have to change our tactics. Sending crosses into the box makes no sense,” said Wormuth. Mukhtar is the tallest as he is 1.74 m and will play the central striker role. If he plays just like he did against Fiji and scores another three goals no one will bring into question if a leading striker is needed.
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Second game. Second win? On Thursday morning at 9:00 CEST the U20 team takes on Uzbekistan in their second group match. After an 8-1 blowout win over Fiji, the stakes are still the same. A win over a strong Uzbekistan team could very well secure a first place group finish. Uzbekistan is under pressure as they lost their first game against Honduras 4-3.
When Frank Wormuth says that the World Cup just started for the Germany team, it was not an insult to their first opponent Fiji. “Not at all, For Fiji’s first game they played above their standards,” said the U20 coach. We should not get carried away with the 8-1 victory. There is a three way race to win Group F. I watched Honduras against Uzbekistan at the stadium. They are two opponents who are on the same level as us.”
That being said, was the opening win useless? “With our win the three points gave us a lead in Group F,” said Wormuth. “Besides that we also played well offensively. But the second half showed that there is still some work to be done.” Against Uzbekistan the 54-year-old will be expecting “a game in which we need to put much work into.”
Uzbekistan’s fourth World Cup
The Uzbekistan team have never been to the World Cup, but there visit to New Zealand marks their fourth appearance in the U20 edition of the tournament. There greatest success was back in 2013 when they lost 4-0 to eventual champions France in the quarter-finals. The same France team who saw a star blossom in Paul Pogba as the midfielder picked up Player of the tournament. Fast forward two years, and the team from central Asia want to make another run but, it will be a bit more challenging given the fact that they started off with a 4-3 loss against Honduras.
Despite the loss, the Uzbek’s have the potential to shock Germany. Rayshan Khaydarov’s team have a very compact defence, which can transition into a fast attack that plays balls over the top. Attacking wise, they play with three strikers who terrorizes opposing defenders with their pace. Star of the team is striker Zabikhillo Urinboev who shot five goals in four qualifying games. Additionally,
German eleven unchanged
Since the Uzbek’s team have different tactics, Germany practiced defending long balls and counter attacking football. “We want to apply as much pressure as possible on Uzbekistan, so they cannot play the game that they are used to,” said Wormuth. Despite having Pascal Köpke and Jeremy Duziak to rely on, the team will remain unchanged.
Köpke, who replaced injured striker Tim Kleindienst would be an alternative in the Germany strike force. In 31 third division games, the son of goalkeeping legend Andy Köpke scored 11 goals. Dudziak on the other hand, recently joined his team after travelling to Berlin with Borussia Dortmund for the DFB Cup. “We will be careful when relying on Jeremy. He did well in training but still has some jet lag,” said Wormuth.
The three attacking positions will still belong to Julian Brandt, Levin Öztunali and Hany Mukhtar. “Without our leading strikers Davie Selke and Tim Kleindienst, we have to change our tactics. Sending crosses into the box makes no sense,” said Wormuth. Mukhtar is the tallest as he is 1.74 m and will play the central striker role. If he plays just like he did against Fiji and scores another three goals no one will bring into question if a leading striker is needed.
