Germany are set for their first knockout game of UEFA EURO 2024 at home on Saturday night (21:00 CEST). Julian Nagelsmann’s side will play Denmark in the round of 16 in Dortmund. BVB defender Nico Schlotterbeck spoke to the press about the clash with Germany’s neighbours at his home ground.
Nico Schlotterbeck on...
…preparations for the game: We already know our full plan for the game, both when it comes to defending and attacking. We know how we can be successful against Denmark. We’ve spoken about small things in training and worked on set pieces too.
…playing alongside Antonio Rüdiger: We’ve already played next to each other a few times for Germany. I like having a right-footed centre-back next to a left-footed one. He trained individually yesterday, so I hope he’s fit in time for Saturday.
…being partly at fault for a Japan goal at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar: That was a year and a half ago now, it’s no longer on my mind. It’s not what I wanted to happen back then. I’m just focusing on the next games and I hope nothing like that happens again.
…his role in the squad: I’m not as tense on the day of a game as I am when I’m in the team. However, you obviously try to be ready in case anything happens. You try to get excited for a potential appearance and prepare for it, but you don’t really have a chance of coming on as a centre-back unless something happens. You have to be ready when you do get the opportunity though.
…his skills as a centre-back: There are 80 million people in Germany so we’re obviously going to have lots of great footballers and centre-backs. Thankfully, I’m left footed and that makes a difference.
…Niclas Füllkrug: It’s fun playing against him in training. He’s a really good striker, has worked so hard and taken a really big step late on in his career. It’s not easy to play against him in training.
…the game plan against Denmark: We need to find the right space and be better with the ball than we were against Switzerland. We need to play like we did in the second half, when we had control of the game at the end. Our aim is then obviously always to score one more goal than the opposition.
…the Danish strikers: We know Jonas Wind from the Bundesliga. He’s an extremely agile striker and likes to receive the ball a lot. I’ve not played much against Rasmus Højlund, but he’s rapid and can use his body well too. Christian Eriksen can be deadly with his first touch. We’re trying to prepare as best we can to keep them all quiet.
…day-to-day-life at the base camp: We’ve been doing a lot of activities. It’s been really fun, we’ve had our families here too. We had a day off when the weather was nice, and that enabled us to chill by the pool. We’re preparing for training and our games. It’s all going well.
…the special atmosphere in Dortmund: The atmosphere there is always good. The Turkish and Albanian fans in particular made some real noise there already in the tournament. It’s the best stadium for atmosphere in the whole country. The fans will really get behind us there. We’ve got people excited and want to continue doing so.
...the national team’s approachability: It’s obviously really important to interact with the fans, particularly on social media. I think it helps to get everyone in Germany on board. I was just at a children’s tournament and maybe made 50 kids happy, which was really nice. I posed for lots of pictures and signed plenty of autographs; it was a great experience for me too.
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Germany are set for their first knockout game of UEFA EURO 2024 at home on Saturday night (21:00 CEST). Julian Nagelsmann’s side will play Denmark in the round of 16 in Dortmund. BVB defender Nico Schlotterbeck spoke to the press about the clash with Germany’s neighbours at his home ground.
Nico Schlotterbeck on...
…preparations for the game: We already know our full plan for the game, both when it comes to defending and attacking. We know how we can be successful against Denmark. We’ve spoken about small things in training and worked on set pieces too.
…playing alongside Antonio Rüdiger: We’ve already played next to each other a few times for Germany. I like having a right-footed centre-back next to a left-footed one. He trained individually yesterday, so I hope he’s fit in time for Saturday.
…being partly at fault for a Japan goal at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar: That was a year and a half ago now, it’s no longer on my mind. It’s not what I wanted to happen back then. I’m just focusing on the next games and I hope nothing like that happens again.
…his role in the squad: I’m not as tense on the day of a game as I am when I’m in the team. However, you obviously try to be ready in case anything happens. You try to get excited for a potential appearance and prepare for it, but you don’t really have a chance of coming on as a centre-back unless something happens. You have to be ready when you do get the opportunity though.
…his skills as a centre-back: There are 80 million people in Germany so we’re obviously going to have lots of great footballers and centre-backs. Thankfully, I’m left footed and that makes a difference.
…Niclas Füllkrug: It’s fun playing against him in training. He’s a really good striker, has worked so hard and taken a really big step late on in his career. It’s not easy to play against him in training.
…the game plan against Denmark: We need to find the right space and be better with the ball than we were against Switzerland. We need to play like we did in the second half, when we had control of the game at the end. Our aim is then obviously always to score one more goal than the opposition.
…the Danish strikers: We know Jonas Wind from the Bundesliga. He’s an extremely agile striker and likes to receive the ball a lot. I’ve not played much against Rasmus Højlund, but he’s rapid and can use his body well too. Christian Eriksen can be deadly with his first touch. We’re trying to prepare as best we can to keep them all quiet.
…day-to-day-life at the base camp: We’ve been doing a lot of activities. It’s been really fun, we’ve had our families here too. We had a day off when the weather was nice, and that enabled us to chill by the pool. We’re preparing for training and our games. It’s all going well.
…the special atmosphere in Dortmund: The atmosphere there is always good. The Turkish and Albanian fans in particular made some real noise there already in the tournament. It’s the best stadium for atmosphere in the whole country. The fans will really get behind us there. We’ve got people excited and want to continue doing so.
...the national team’s approachability: It’s obviously really important to interact with the fans, particularly on social media. I think it helps to get everyone in Germany on board. I was just at a children’s tournament and maybe made 50 kids happy, which was really nice. I posed for lots of pictures and signed plenty of autographs; it was a great experience for me too.
