Horst Hrubesch has named his first 22-man squad for the international against France in Freiburg on Tuesday (live on Eurosport from 20.30 CET) in his new role as U-21 coach. Last season, the 62-year-old was responsible for the U-18 national team, having previously won the European title with the U-21s in 2009.
The match in Freiburg is the last friendly before qualification begins for the UEFA Under-21 Championship in the Czech Republic in 2015. Reaching the finals could mean securing a place at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.
Hrubesch: "The start of a long journey"
Horst Hrubesch said: "I'm looking forward to the game because it signals the start of a long journey for us. We're chasing ambitious targets; we want to qualify for the European Championship and the Olympic Games. Now it's our job to integrate these players straight away and develop an understanding within the team as soon as possible."
Ten of the players have already gained experience with the U-21 team: Emre Can, Matthias Ginter, Bernd Leno, Shkodran Mustafi, Antonio Rüdiger and Kevin Volland were all part of the squad at June’s continental competition in Israel. The team's most experienced players are Moritz Leitner and Kevin Volland with ten caps apiece, while goalkeeper Marc-André ter Stegen has already played three internationals for the senior national side.
Qualification for the U-21 EURO begins in September
Back in July, upcoming opponents France won the FIFA U-20 World Cup in Turkey, while the French Football Association (FFF) has already begun to rebuild its U-21 side after the Les Bleuets missed out on the U-21 European Championships in Israel. Hrubesch commented: "I know the French very well. Of course, they're exceptionally well trained technically and have plenty of athletic players. They have a slight advantage, having already played together a little longer, but we want to win this match in front of a home crowd."
The U-21s begin their EURO qualifying campaign on Friday 6 September away to the Faroe Islands, before travelling to Ireland for their second match on 9 September. In October, Hrubesch's team will first welcome Montenegro (Friday 11 October) then the Faroe Islands (Tuesday 15 October) for their first home games of the European qualifiers.
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Horst Hrubesch has named his first 22-man squad for the international against France in Freiburg on Tuesday (live on Eurosport from 20.30 CET) in his new role as U-21 coach. Last season, the 62-year-old was responsible for the U-18 national team, having previously won the European title with the U-21s in 2009.
The match in Freiburg is the last friendly before qualification begins for the UEFA Under-21 Championship in the Czech Republic in 2015. Reaching the finals could mean securing a place at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.
Hrubesch: "The start of a long journey"
Horst Hrubesch said: "I'm looking forward to the game because it signals the start of a long journey for us. We're chasing ambitious targets; we want to qualify for the European Championship and the Olympic Games. Now it's our job to integrate these players straight away and develop an understanding within the team as soon as possible."
Ten of the players have already gained experience with the U-21 team: Emre Can, Matthias Ginter, Bernd Leno, Shkodran Mustafi, Antonio Rüdiger and Kevin Volland were all part of the squad at June’s continental competition in Israel. The team's most experienced players are Moritz Leitner and Kevin Volland with ten caps apiece, while goalkeeper Marc-André ter Stegen has already played three internationals for the senior national side.
[bild2]
Qualification for the U-21 EURO begins in September
Back in July, upcoming opponents France won the FIFA U-20 World Cup in Turkey, while the French Football Association (FFF) has already begun to rebuild its U-21 side after the Les Bleuets missed out on the U-21 European Championships in Israel. Hrubesch commented: "I know the French very well. Of course, they're exceptionally well trained technically and have plenty of athletic players. They have a slight advantage, having already played together a little longer, but we want to win this match in front of a home crowd."
The U-21s begin their EURO qualifying campaign on Friday 6 September away to the Faroe Islands, before travelling to Ireland for their second match on 9 September. In October, Hrubesch's team will first welcome Montenegro (Friday 11 October) then the Faroe Islands (Tuesday 15 October) for their first home games of the European qualifiers.
In mid-November, Germany travel to Montenegro for the return leg (Friday 15 November) before their meeting with Romania on Tuesday 19 November. The ten group winners and four best runners-up will enter the play-offs that determine which seven teams will be joining the hosts at the UEFA Under-21 Championship finals in June 2015.
