They’re related neither by blood, nor marriage, but the pair are indispensable for the U21 side. Midfielder Jonas Hofmann and attacker Philipp Hofmann both stood out in the first leg against Ukraine in Cherkassy last Friday (3-0), and will be called into action again in the return leg of the playoff in Essen on Thursday (18:00 CEST), when they battle for a place at the 2015 European Championships.
The situation is straightforward: Germany affirmed their role as favourites with a comfortable win away from home. In the home leg, any lingering doubts over a place at the European Championships should be put to rest. Philipp Hofmann, 1. FC Kaiserslautern attacker, said: “It’s obviously gone great for us so far but we still have to keep our concentration. The Ukrainians will throw everything at us and will be similarly hard to break down as they were in the first leg. They caused us problems from the start on that occasion. We only have the advantage because we simply took our chances.”
Also Jonas Hofmann, who assisted his namesake with a superb cross for the opener in Ukraine, warned: “There’s always the danger that something could go wrong. We hope it doesn’t happen to us though and will do everything to prevent that. We’ve prepared well for this game and want to show that we can play good football. It will ultimately be decided if we score the first goal.”
Good spirits off the pitch
The U21s are approaching training with great enthusiasm. The current recipe for success? Good spirits off the pitch and the upmost concentration on the field. Jonas Hofmann explained the team’s plan for the return leg: “We want to stand firm at the back, play with our system and then take our chances in front of goal. We’ll be at the European Championships next year if we manage to do that.”
Philipp Hofmann touched upon the team spirit within the camp. Despite netting seven times in ten U21 international matches, the attacker knows who he has to thank – apart from his own performances – for these good stats: “My teammates, of course. It’s good for the team that we’re a hard side to work out. Long may it continue – on Tuesday evening.”
They’re related neither by blood, nor marriage, but the pair are indispensable for the U21 side. Midfielder Jonas Hofmann and attacker Philipp Hofmann both stood out in the first leg against Ukraine in Cherkassy last Friday (3-0), and will be called into action again in the return leg of the playoff in Essen on Thursday (18:00 CEST), when they battle for a place at the 2015 European Championships.
The situation is straightforward: Germany affirmed their role as favourites with a comfortable win away from home. In the home leg, any lingering doubts over a place at the European Championships should be put to rest. Philipp Hofmann, 1. FC Kaiserslautern attacker, said: “It’s obviously gone great for us so far but we still have to keep our concentration. The Ukrainians will throw everything at us and will be similarly hard to break down as they were in the first leg. They caused us problems from the start on that occasion. We only have the advantage because we simply took our chances.”
Also Jonas Hofmann, who assisted his namesake with a superb cross for the opener in Ukraine, warned: “There’s always the danger that something could go wrong. We hope it doesn’t happen to us though and will do everything to prevent that. We’ve prepared well for this game and want to show that we can play good football. It will ultimately be decided if we score the first goal.”
Good spirits off the pitch
The U21s are approaching training with great enthusiasm. The current recipe for success? Good spirits off the pitch and the upmost concentration on the field. Jonas Hofmann explained the team’s plan for the return leg: “We want to stand firm at the back, play with our system and then take our chances in front of goal. We’ll be at the European Championships next year if we manage to do that.”
Philipp Hofmann touched upon the team spirit within the camp. Despite netting seven times in ten U21 international matches, the attacker knows who he has to thank – apart from his own performances – for these good stats: “My teammates, of course. It’s good for the team that we’re a hard side to work out. Long may it continue – on Tuesday evening.”
