Three days have now passed since Germany U21’s first game at the European Championships in the Czech Republic. That can only mean one thing – matchday! Germany are in action this evening (20:45 CEST), when they take on Denmark in their second Group A match at the Eden Stadium in Prague. Following the 1-1 draw in their tournament opener against Serbia, it’s perhaps not so bad that head coach Horst Hrubesch’s team’s next match is upon them already.
The players have recovered well and are eager to do better than they did in their first game, something that was evident to see at the official final training session at Eden Stadium on Friday. The team had half a day off on Thursday, with some players taking in the town, others spending the day in the hotel to free their minds.
Everyone is fit – only Günter out with suspension
All 23 players proved to be in tip-top condition during the final training session, with only Christian Günter out for the Denmark match due to the red card he picked up against Serbia. “You’ll see what the line-up will look like early enough, like always,” said head coach Horst Hrubesch at Friday’s press conference. The boss has two superb options at his disposal in the form of Hannover 96’s Leonardo Bittencourt and RB Leipzig’s Joshua Kimmich, who impressed after coming off the bench against Serbia.
“The coach is the boss and decides the line-up,” Bittencourt said. “Anyone in our squad can start. We are very flexible, we have quick, individually strong and also good players in defence.” That will also come into play in the game against Denmark. The team will raise their game, get stuck in and not react. Just as they did in the second half against Serbia. And it’s quite possible that Denmark’s style of play has gone some way towards accommodating that of the Germany U21s’.
Denmark have an attacking style of play
Denmark are just as disciplined at the back as the Serbia, but retain the ball themselves too and have an attacking style of play. “They are a compact team, which are big and dangerous from set pieces,” said Hrubesch. “We’re aware of that and will watch out for it. We’ll show the side of us, which you don’t usually expect from us.” You’re automatically inclined to believe the coach’s words. The team gives the impression that they’ve arrived at the tournament. Even if this was only the case from the 46th minute onwards in the first game.
In their first game against the Czech Republic, Denmark sat back to start with but were able to turn the game on its head as they triumphed 2-1. Today’s U21 opponents only really got going after the interval too and in the end, deservedly won. Hrubesch replied to a possible pressured scenario for the Germans – “The pressure hasn’t changed. We said prior to the tournament that we would think from game-to-game and from opponent-to-opponent.” His team are not so naïve to believe that there would be easier and harder games at the EUROs. “All teams at the tournament are of a high level. You have to work really hard if you want to reach the semis,” said the 64-year-old.
The Germany U21 national team will take on the role of favourites again. As you believe in your own quality and really want to show that you didn’t reach your full potential in the opening game. “We’re tough to beat,” Leonardo Bittencourt emphasised. Denmark is the hurdle, on which their entire concentration lies in order to fulfil the minimal goal of the semi-finals and subsequently qualify for the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio. Step by step, final by final. Already in the group phase now. Only by beating Denmark, can Germany progress to the final four of the competition.
