The Germany U21 team are currently in Bad Gögging preparing for their final Euro qualifiers against Russia in Ingolstadt on Friday and against Austria in St. Pölten on Tuesday, both at 18:00 CEST. The team has a flawless record so far with eight wins from eight matches. If they win against Russia they could secure qualification for the U21 European Championship in 2017.
“We are preparing just like we would for any other match,” said Serge Gnabry when speaking to DFB.de. “We don’t underestimate any of our opponents and we know that we have to focus on our strengths and give it our all. Then we can get our ninth win and complete a perfect qualification campaign.”
Strong debut at Werder Bremen
The well attuned U21 team want to keep up their good run of form by giving Serge Gnabry a key role to play upfront. Before the Olympic Games in Rio this summer, the 21-year old was considered a back-up player in the U21s, now he has firmly established himself in the team. He won a silver medal and was the team’s top scorer with six goals. Now Serge Gnabry plays with even more confidence and decided to transfer to Bundesliga club Werder Bremen in the summer.
”I received a very warm welcome from the team and I have adapted well to the Bundesliga,” said Gnabry who has already scored two goals and provided an assist in five Bundesliga appearances. A lot more emphasis is being placed on his tactical development in comparison to his time in the Premier League with Arsenal FC.
Hrubesch and Kuntz have a very similar style
The upcoming Euro qualifiers will be the second batch of games with Stefan Kuntz in charge and the new manager places a lot of emphasis on tactics. “We do a lot of work on tactics in training and we carry out a lot of tactical exercises,” said Gnabry. “There is also a lot of emphasis placed on analyzing matches. Hrubesch and Kuntz have a very similar style of coaching. Kuntz also maintains very good relationships with the players. As a former player himself he knows how important it is to speak with us often and explain his decisions to us.” His coaching style is one of the reasons that every player is happy in the U21 side and always looks forward to the next international break.
It’s clear to see how close the relationship between the U21s and Joachim Löw’s national team is. For instance, Joshua Kimmich, Julian Weigl, Julian Brandt and Max Meyer all played for the U21s until recently, while Leroy Sané, Jonathan Tah, Matthias Ginter and Niklas Süle all have recent first team experience, but currently play key roles in the U21s.
“It shows how strong our young players in Germany are,” commented Gnabry. “Everyone here in the U21s has the potential to play in the first team.” This also applies to the 21 year old himself, whose focus is fully on qualifying for the European Championships with the U21s: “It’s an incentive when you see that you have the opportunity of making it to Jogi Löw’s squad. But I’m not thinking about that now; we absolutely want to get the win against Russia to confirm our place in Poland next year.”
The Germany U21 team are currently in Bad Gögging preparing for their final Euro qualifiers against Russia in Ingolstadt on Friday and against Austria in St. Pölten on Tuesday, both at 18:00 CEST. The team has a flawless record so far with eight wins from eight matches. If they win against Russia they could secure qualification for the U21 European Championship in 2017.
“We are preparing just like we would for any other match,” said Serge Gnabry when speaking to DFB.de. “We don’t underestimate any of our opponents and we know that we have to focus on our strengths and give it our all. Then we can get our ninth win and complete a perfect qualification campaign.”
Strong debut at Werder Bremen
The well attuned U21 team want to keep up their good run of form by giving Serge Gnabry a key role to play upfront. Before the Olympic Games in Rio this summer, the 21-year old was considered a back-up player in the U21s, now he has firmly established himself in the team. He won a silver medal and was the team’s top scorer with six goals. Now Serge Gnabry plays with even more confidence and decided to transfer to Bundesliga club Werder Bremen in the summer.
”I received a very warm welcome from the team and I have adapted well to the Bundesliga,” said Gnabry who has already scored two goals and provided an assist in five Bundesliga appearances. A lot more emphasis is being placed on his tactical development in comparison to his time in the Premier League with Arsenal FC.
Hrubesch and Kuntz have a very similar style
The upcoming Euro qualifiers will be the second batch of games with Stefan Kuntz in charge and the new manager places a lot of emphasis on tactics. “We do a lot of work on tactics in training and we carry out a lot of tactical exercises,” said Gnabry. “There is also a lot of emphasis placed on analyzing matches. Hrubesch and Kuntz have a very similar style of coaching. Kuntz also maintains very good relationships with the players. As a former player himself he knows how important it is to speak with us often and explain his decisions to us.” His coaching style is one of the reasons that every player is happy in the U21 side and always looks forward to the next international break.
It’s clear to see how close the relationship between the U21s and Joachim Löw’s national team is. For instance, Joshua Kimmich, Julian Weigl, Julian Brandt and Max Meyer all played for the U21s until recently, while Leroy Sané, Jonathan Tah, Matthias Ginter and Niklas Süle all have recent first team experience, but currently play key roles in the U21s.
“It shows how strong our young players in Germany are,” commented Gnabry. “Everyone here in the U21s has the potential to play in the first team.” This also applies to the 21 year old himself, whose focus is fully on qualifying for the European Championships with the U21s: “It’s an incentive when you see that you have the opportunity of making it to Jogi Löw’s squad. But I’m not thinking about that now; we absolutely want to get the win against Russia to confirm our place in Poland next year.”
