Germany’s U21’s are hungry for a second win when they come up against Denmark in the second game of their U21 European Championship campaign in Poland. It’s something they can’t escape, with motivational posters featuring the slogan “Show the Danes” hung up around the team hotel in Turowka. The situation Germany finds itself in is just as simple as the slogan itself: A win against Denmark in Krakow tonight would set them up nicely for their final group-stage game against Italy on Saturday (20:45 CEST).
“A good goal difference could be decisive, and because of this every goal is important,” said Schalke 04 playmaker Max Meyer, and to do that they’ll be looking to score more goals than they did in their 2-0 triumph over the Czech Republic. The team took some time to get into the game, on occasion giving into their nerves and trying a long ball over the top instead of sticking to their philosophy of football. “You could see that the boys were quite self-critical and knew that they weren’t doing what we were asking of them,” said manager Stefan Kuntz.
The Germans will expect a similarly defensively-compact opponent like the Czech Republic in their second game of the group. Denmark accumulated 28 of a possible 30 points throughout the qualifying phase, conceding just three goals – the best figure of all the teams. The Danes were on par with the Italians in their EURO opener for much of the game, despite the final 2-0 scoreline in favour of the Italians.
Stark questionable to play
Questions surround the availability of DFB defender Niklas Stark, who suffered a rib injury in the opener. Hamburg’s Gideon Jung seems the likely candidate to replace the vice-captain. “We’re optimistic,” remarked Kuntz, who also signaled that there were unlikely to be any changes bar that one made to the starting eleven.
Germany’s U21s’ are fully focused on the task ahead of them. “We have to go into the game against Denmark with a professional mindset, and be alert from the first minute,” explained Max Meyer, adding: “We can’t make any mistakes – if we do, then it could all be over. We all know that.”
His manager announced that things would likely be different. “Now we’ve settled into the tournament we’ll be better,” said Kuntz. Following tonight’s duel, Germany will turn their attention to a potential showdown for the Group C top-spot against Italy in a battle for a guaranteed semi-final place.
Germany’s U21’s are hungry for a second win when they come up against Denmark in the second game of their U21 European Championship campaign in Poland. It’s something they can’t escape, with motivational posters featuring the slogan “Show the Danes” hung up around the team hotel in Turowka. The situation Germany finds itself in is just as simple as the slogan itself: A win against Denmark in Krakow tonight would set them up nicely for their final group-stage game against Italy on Saturday (20:45 CEST).
“A good goal difference could be decisive, and because of this every goal is important,” said Schalke 04 playmaker Max Meyer, and to do that they’ll be looking to score more goals than they did in their 2-0 triumph over the Czech Republic. The team took some time to get into the game, on occasion giving into their nerves and trying a long ball over the top instead of sticking to their philosophy of football. “You could see that the boys were quite self-critical and knew that they weren’t doing what we were asking of them,” said manager Stefan Kuntz.
The Germans will expect a similarly defensively-compact opponent like the Czech Republic in their second game of the group. Denmark accumulated 28 of a possible 30 points throughout the qualifying phase, conceding just three goals – the best figure of all the teams. The Danes were on par with the Italians in their EURO opener for much of the game, despite the final 2-0 scoreline in favour of the Italians.
Stark questionable to play
Questions surround the availability of DFB defender Niklas Stark, who suffered a rib injury in the opener. Hamburg’s Gideon Jung seems the likely candidate to replace the vice-captain. “We’re optimistic,” remarked Kuntz, who also signaled that there were unlikely to be any changes bar that one made to the starting eleven.
Germany’s U21s’ are fully focused on the task ahead of them. “We have to go into the game against Denmark with a professional mindset, and be alert from the first minute,” explained Max Meyer, adding: “We can’t make any mistakes – if we do, then it could all be over. We all know that.”
His manager announced that things would likely be different. “Now we’ve settled into the tournament we’ll be better,” said Kuntz. Following tonight’s duel, Germany will turn their attention to a potential showdown for the Group C top-spot against Italy in a battle for a guaranteed semi-final place.
