Assistant coach Marcus Sorg and attacker Serge Gnabry spoke to the media ahead of Germany’s friendly against Denmark on Wednesday (21:00 CEST) about the opposition and preparation for EURO 2020. DFB.de has rounded up the most important take-aways.
Serge Gnabry on…
… his first major tournament: I’m really looking forward to my first tournament with the national team. The days are fun, and training is really enjoyable. We have a good group here and are looking forward to the Denmark game, but also the opening game of our EUROs against France.
… fans potentially returning to stadiums for the EUROs: It would be wonderful. I think watching the Champions League final you could see what makes the atmosphere. The fans can carry us a bit, but as players, we can't influence the decision, we can only hope for it.
… Germany’s attack: If you don't have a traditional striker up front, it's a different game, of course, but we have so much quality going forward that I'm not worried that we won't be good enough. Everyone will do their best to replace the striker role and we'll see what happens.
… chance conversion: The only way to improve that is a lot of shooting in training in order to improve your self-confidence. We’re working on that.
… his own role and preferred position: We’ll see what happens. I’m happy when I can get forward. We have a lot of quality when it comes to scoring goals, regardless of who is playing up front. Where I play doesn’t matter, as long as it’s not in defence. I’ll try get into spaces where I can be dangerous. I feel comfortable everywhere in attack because I love scoring goals.
… Thomas Müller: He’s earned it after the way he’s played the past season. He is someone that always makes something possible in attack and also one of the players who leads the way when it comes to motivating.
… the team hierarchy: It’s always good to have different leaders involved, people with experience. It’s important that we all pull together, then good things can come out of it.
Marcus Sorg on…
… expectations for the Denmark game: We expect the team to play with passion and commitment. We want to see us put things into practice that we have worked on in training, such as compactness, defensive cover and set pieces. We have to accept that one or two things won’t be perfect after just a few days at the training camp. We want to get a positive result, but we cannot forget our long-term goal. The result is important, but it’s not the end of the world. A good result would be perfect because it will help the side’s development and confidence.
… Denmark: Denmark have developed well. They’ve got a good defence, concede few goals and score alot themselves. They have players that play for top clubs and that have performed all year round. It’s a good test for us. I’m looking forward to the challenge. It’ll show us what we’re missing and what our weaknesses are. You can always learn things from games like these.
… the competition for places up front: I think it’s a positive thing – it raises the performance levels. We will have to see how fit the players are at each stage. Competition for places is a luxury rather than a problem.
… the starting XI: It’s a waste of time making plans when you’ve not got the whole squad together. I hope we’ve got everyone available. We will make sure we use as many substitutes as possible against Denmark.
… the squad: We will have to keep an eye on Toni Kroos and Jamal Musiala each day. They will start training with the team tomorrow, so we’ll have to see how they deal with that. Leon Goretzka arrived at the training camp today.
… Christian Günter: He brings a lot of passion and a huge physical presence with him. His left foot is just one of the strengths he possesses.
… Leroy Sané: I’ve known him for a very long time, since he was in the youth sides. He’s developed his attitude and how seriously he takes things. He always had some idiosyncrasies, but has learnt some things himself and has made some real progress. This could be down to his surroundings now. One thing you need to remember is that not all players are the same. Everyone has different characteristics, strengths and weaknesses.
[mmc/bh]
Assistant coach Marcus Sorg and attacker Serge Gnabry spoke to the media ahead of Germany’s friendly against Denmark on Wednesday (21:00 CEST) about the opposition and preparation for EURO 2020. DFB.de has rounded up the most important take-aways.
Serge Gnabry on…
… his first major tournament: I’m really looking forward to my first tournament with the national team. The days are fun, and training is really enjoyable. We have a good group here and are looking forward to the Denmark game, but also the opening game of our EUROs against France.
… fans potentially returning to stadiums for the EUROs: It would be wonderful. I think watching the Champions League final you could see what makes the atmosphere. The fans can carry us a bit, but as players, we can't influence the decision, we can only hope for it.
… Germany’s attack: If you don't have a traditional striker up front, it's a different game, of course, but we have so much quality going forward that I'm not worried that we won't be good enough. Everyone will do their best to replace the striker role and we'll see what happens.
… chance conversion: The only way to improve that is a lot of shooting in training in order to improve your self-confidence. We’re working on that.
… his own role and preferred position: We’ll see what happens. I’m happy when I can get forward. We have a lot of quality when it comes to scoring goals, regardless of who is playing up front. Where I play doesn’t matter, as long as it’s not in defence. I’ll try get into spaces where I can be dangerous. I feel comfortable everywhere in attack because I love scoring goals.
… Thomas Müller: He’s earned it after the way he’s played the past season. He is someone that always makes something possible in attack and also one of the players who leads the way when it comes to motivating.
… the team hierarchy: It’s always good to have different leaders involved, people with experience. It’s important that we all pull together, then good things can come out of it.
Marcus Sorg on…
… expectations for the Denmark game: We expect the team to play with passion and commitment. We want to see us put things into practice that we have worked on in training, such as compactness, defensive cover and set pieces. We have to accept that one or two things won’t be perfect after just a few days at the training camp. We want to get a positive result, but we cannot forget our long-term goal. The result is important, but it’s not the end of the world. A good result would be perfect because it will help the side’s development and confidence.
… Denmark: Denmark have developed well. They’ve got a good defence, concede few goals and score alot themselves. They have players that play for top clubs and that have performed all year round. It’s a good test for us. I’m looking forward to the challenge. It’ll show us what we’re missing and what our weaknesses are. You can always learn things from games like these.
… the competition for places up front: I think it’s a positive thing – it raises the performance levels. We will have to see how fit the players are at each stage. Competition for places is a luxury rather than a problem.
… the starting XI: It’s a waste of time making plans when you’ve not got the whole squad together. I hope we’ve got everyone available. We will make sure we use as many substitutes as possible against Denmark.
… the squad: We will have to keep an eye on Toni Kroos and Jamal Musiala each day. They will start training with the team tomorrow, so we’ll have to see how they deal with that. Leon Goretzka arrived at the training camp today.
… Christian Günter: He brings a lot of passion and a huge physical presence with him. His left foot is just one of the strengths he possesses.
… Leroy Sané: I’ve known him for a very long time, since he was in the youth sides. He’s developed his attitude and how seriously he takes things. He always had some idiosyncrasies, but has learnt some things himself and has made some real progress. This could be down to his surroundings now. One thing you need to remember is that not all players are the same. Everyone has different characteristics, strengths and weaknesses.
