Copacabana is the target; the Baltic Sea is the starting point. The path to the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro begins tonight for the U21s in Lübeck. For manager Horst Hrubesch, this friendly against Denmark should give him an important indication of his new group’s level.
“The first game with a new team is always something special,” says Hrubesch. “We have a very team that has a strong game and it technically good. I’m already excited and really looking forward to the game. The boys have trained well over the past few days and ready for the game. I hope that they gel together quickly on the pitch.”
“We want to use the game against Denmark to test out a few things, and we will definitely make some changes in the second half,” says the 64-year-old who is not forgetting about qualifying for the 2017 EUROs in Poland, despite the dream trip to the Olympics. His team must travel to Baku on Tuesday (16:00 CEST) to face Azerbaijan in the first qualifier for the next EUROs.
15 new players in squad
The successful coach has had to call up a new round of players to his U21 squad because of age restrictions. From the squad of 23 that secured qualification to the Olympics by reaching the semi-finals of the EUROs in the summer, only Max Meyer (Schalke), Maximilian Arnold (Wolfsburg), Jushua Kimmich (Bayern München) and Serge Gnabry (West Bromwich Albion) remain. Matthias Ginter (Borussia Dortmund) and Emre Can (Liverpool) would also still be eligible, but they have been called up to the senior squad by Joachim Löw.
Hrubesch therefore called up 17 new players, but after injuries to Timo Baumgartl and Gideon Jung, there are only 15 remaining in the squad. Expectations are high for the youngsters. “Our demand has to be to qualify from the group,” says Hrubesch. As well as Azerbaijan, Germany’s group consists of the Faroe Islands, Finland, Austria and Russia.
However, before the finals of the EUROs, Germany will be taking part in the Olympic football tournament for the first time in 28 years. For Hrubesch that is the bee’s knees: “I’m already thankful for being able to take part. In any case it is an attractive mission.”
Copacabana is the target; the Baltic Sea is the starting point. The path to the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro begins tonight for the U21s in Lübeck. For manager Horst Hrubesch, this friendly against Denmark should give him an important indication of his new group’s level.
“The first game with a new team is always something special,” says Hrubesch. “We have a very team that has a strong game and it technically good. I’m already excited and really looking forward to the game. The boys have trained well over the past few days and ready for the game. I hope that they gel together quickly on the pitch.”
“We want to use the game against Denmark to test out a few things, and we will definitely make some changes in the second half,” says the 64-year-old who is not forgetting about qualifying for the 2017 EUROs in Poland, despite the dream trip to the Olympics. His team must travel to Baku on Tuesday (16:00 CEST) to face Azerbaijan in the first qualifier for the next EUROs.
15 new players in squad
The successful coach has had to call up a new round of players to his U21 squad because of age restrictions. From the squad of 23 that secured qualification to the Olympics by reaching the semi-finals of the EUROs in the summer, only Max Meyer (Schalke), Maximilian Arnold (Wolfsburg), Jushua Kimmich (Bayern München) and Serge Gnabry (West Bromwich Albion) remain. Matthias Ginter (Borussia Dortmund) and Emre Can (Liverpool) would also still be eligible, but they have been called up to the senior squad by Joachim Löw.
Hrubesch therefore called up 17 new players, but after injuries to Timo Baumgartl and Gideon Jung, there are only 15 remaining in the squad. Expectations are high for the youngsters. “Our demand has to be to qualify from the group,” says Hrubesch. As well as Azerbaijan, Germany’s group consists of the Faroe Islands, Finland, Austria and Russia.
However, before the finals of the EUROs, Germany will be taking part in the Olympic football tournament for the first time in 28 years. For Hrubesch that is the bee’s knees: “I’m already thankful for being able to take part. In any case it is an attractive mission.”
