Germany’s dream of winning the U19 Euros hangs in the balance. Beat Russia in the final group game, and they’re through to the semi-finals. Lose or draw, and the defending champions are going home. “This game is a final,” says Marcus Sorg.
Despite the pressure situation, the Germany coach seems relaxed and trusting in his team. “They have often proved that they can deal with pressure. You don’t get these situations in club competitions, only with the national team. When there is no safety net or do-over button, and it all comes down to form on the day, the players step up and perform. We’ve already seen this in qualification when we played two finals and managed to put in a top performance.”
"It will take a huge effort against Russia"
Sorg has taken great heart from the last-minute win over the Netherlands. “The players have learnt that they are being rewarded for their efforts. So we can go into the next task with greater strength.” After the 3-0 opening defeat to Spain, the 1-0 win over the Netherlands was crucial for survival.
The celebrated scorer of the last-minute goal, Gladbach’s Gianluca Rizzo, says, “We didn’t leave ourselves high and dry, but fought until the end.” And that’s how it should be against Russia. “It will take a huge effort, but we’ve seen in both games that this team has great morale and everyone is ready to work for each other,” says Max Christiansen from newly-promoted Bundesliga side FC Ingolstadt.
All square in Group B
Going into the final group games, all four teams in Group B are on three points, with Germany sitting bottom by virtue of their inferior goal difference. Russia are currently second after losing 1-0 to Holland and then surprisingly beating Spain 3-1.
It’s no surprise then that Sorg has spoken enthusiastically about the up-coming opponents. “The Russians play a very disciplined game, are very well organized and dangerous on the counter. They will pounce when we lose the ball, so we must be wary. We have to find the middle ground between aggressive, quick attacking play and reliability in possession.”
Werner recalls quote from Stevens
Timo Werner knows the recipe for success in the final group game. “We played very well against the Netherlands, only our chance conversion left a lot to be desired. This time we definitely want to do better with that.” The Stuttgart striker remembers what his former club coach said in this sort of situation: “a quote from my former coach Huub Stevens is appropriate for us now. He used to say before the last three games ‘now it’s the quarter-final, then the semi, and then the final.’ Russia is our quarter-final, and that’s how we want to approach the game.”
His team have renewed self-confidence after the success against the Netherlands and believe in their own strengths again. “Everyone knows what it’s all about,” says Werner, “Russia were U17 champions in our age group, so they don’t have a bad team. But if we all play to our potential, we will beat Russia.”
Germany’s dream of winning the U19 Euros hangs in the balance. Beat Russia in the final group game, and they’re through to the semi-finals. Lose or draw, and the defending champions are going home. “This game is a final,” says Marcus Sorg.
Despite the pressure situation, the Germany coach seems relaxed and trusting in his team. “They have often proved that they can deal with pressure. You don’t get these situations in club competitions, only with the national team. When there is no safety net or do-over button, and it all comes down to form on the day, the players step up and perform. We’ve already seen this in qualification when we played two finals and managed to put in a top performance.”
"It will take a huge effort against Russia"
Sorg has taken great heart from the last-minute win over the Netherlands. “The players have learnt that they are being rewarded for their efforts. So we can go into the next task with greater strength.” After the 3-0 opening defeat to Spain, the 1-0 win over the Netherlands was crucial for survival.
The celebrated scorer of the last-minute goal, Gladbach’s Gianluca Rizzo, says, “We didn’t leave ourselves high and dry, but fought until the end.” And that’s how it should be against Russia. “It will take a huge effort, but we’ve seen in both games that this team has great morale and everyone is ready to work for each other,” says Max Christiansen from newly-promoted Bundesliga side FC Ingolstadt.
All square in Group B
Going into the final group games, all four teams in Group B are on three points, with Germany sitting bottom by virtue of their inferior goal difference. Russia are currently second after losing 1-0 to Holland and then surprisingly beating Spain 3-1.
It’s no surprise then that Sorg has spoken enthusiastically about the up-coming opponents. “The Russians play a very disciplined game, are very well organized and dangerous on the counter. They will pounce when we lose the ball, so we must be wary. We have to find the middle ground between aggressive, quick attacking play and reliability in possession.”
Werner recalls quote from Stevens
Timo Werner knows the recipe for success in the final group game. “We played very well against the Netherlands, only our chance conversion left a lot to be desired. This time we definitely want to do better with that.” The Stuttgart striker remembers what his former club coach said in this sort of situation: “a quote from my former coach Huub Stevens is appropriate for us now. He used to say before the last three games ‘now it’s the quarter-final, then the semi, and then the final.’ Russia is our quarter-final, and that’s how we want to approach the game.”
His team have renewed self-confidence after the success against the Netherlands and believe in their own strengths again. “Everyone knows what it’s all about,” says Werner, “Russia were U17 champions in our age group, so they don’t have a bad team. But if we all play to our potential, we will beat Russia.”
Teammate Christiansen also sees it like this: “we have a lot of quality in the team and players who can decide a game with their individual class.” And everyone is fit to play, so Sorg cannot bemoan any absentees.
