Germany manager Steffi Jones has expressed how happy she is with her girls as they embark on their mission to defend their title, and is full of “excitement” for the European Championship which takes place in the Netherlands from July 16th to August 6th. “I’ve missed the girls, now we’re finally ready to go,” said the 44-year-old at their training camp in Klosterpforte and ahead of their first European Championship test on July 4th against Brazil in Sandhausen. “It started great, the girls have worked very well after their holidays.”
The eight-time European Champions have begun their first of three training camps en route to the finals, where Jones will appear at her first tournament since taking on the role and aim for a seventh Germany win in a row. “The big goal is the European Championship title - I can say that with confidence.”
Jones: “Every session counts”
The focus of the training sessions and for the squad of 29 is on build-up play, follow-up play, and the defence. “Every session counts, we can only go through a lot of things once,” said Jones with an eye on the mere 15 days of preparation that they have. The Germany manager anticipates a lot of excitement on the pitch from the outset. “It couldn’t be any better, and it’s fun for every manager.”
The only game that remains for the Olympic-winners before the start of the tournament is the friendly against Brazil. That day, on July 5th, Jones name her final squad for the European Championship. Seven days later, on July 12th, the DFB outfit will travel to the Netherlands before the defending champions come up against Sweden in Breda on July 17th (20:45 CEST). Their remaining group-stage games come against Italy in Tilburg on July 21st (20:45 CEST), and Russia in Utrecht on July 25th (20:45 CEST).