The Germany national team’s final friendly before the European Championships is fast approaching. Before the hosts open the tournament against Scotland on 14th June, Julian Nagelsmann’s side will face Greece in Mönchengladbach on Friday (20:45 CEST). Ahead of the game, Nagelsmann and attacker Kai Havertz spoke on Wednesday about their upcoming opponents, the forward line and more.
Julian Nagelsmann on…
…attacking options: We’re delighted that Fülle is back with us. It’s good to have an old-fashioned number 9 in the squad again. His role in the squad is clear. When Kai performs, he’s just ahead in the pecking order – and he has to perform. Fülle will get his opportunity and provide a goal threat.
…the final squad for the tournament: We have a starting XI in mind – we need a good performance tomorrow to confirm it. The players need to familiarise themselves with each other’s game. For the most part, we’ve made a decision on the final squad. But I’m not going to announce it now, and I’m not going to speak to the players missing out. The worst-case scenario is that someone gets injured and we have to bring a player back into the fold. It would be stupid to have that conversation now. The decision is essentially set in stone, and we’ll announce it after the game.
…Leroy Sané’s fitness: Leroy is an option for tomorrow. He’s been fully involved with the last two training sessions, and we’re happy with the progress he’s making. We have to bear in mind, though, that we won’t be able to start every game straight away. He needs to get some minutes under his belt tomorrow to get back into the swing of things.
…Friday’s friendly: A positive result is always good for self-confidence. We want to win. It’s difficult to predict what sort of team we’ll be up against because they’ve had a change of head coach. It’s a shame, because it means we can never be 100% prepared, but it can also give us an opportunity. We have a plan and we’re all singing from the same hymn sheet.
…Musiala, Wirtz and Pavlović: Jamal hasn’t trained for about three weeks now, and neither has Pavlo. Florian Wirtz is pretty much back to full fitness. All of them are training at full intensity.
…Kroos and Rüdiger: They haven’t been celebrating too much – they’re professionals. Antonio has to be a leader at the back and really have the bit between his teeth when it comes to defending. Toni will improve us going forward, although it wasn’t a bad attacking display against Ukraine either.
…Kroos’ international comeback: I thought about calling him up very early on. I see him as a very good player to have around the dressing room. He was very happy that I was thinking about bringing him back into the squad. Nevertheless, he isn’t here to be some sort of saviour.
…discord in the squad: I do sometimes ask the team for their opinions. For me, it’s all about whether we have a player disrupting proceedings. We were all in agreement that there’s no such player in the squad.
Kai Havertz on…
…Niclas Füllkrug: We get on very well. Healthy competition is always a part of football, and we both have different qualities. It’s all about putting our egos aside and focusing on what’s best for the team.
…the squad’s mentality: Defeats like the ones we’ve had in the last couple of years bring us closer together. Now we need to show that with our performances on the pitch.
…the feeling within the DFB camp: There’s a different mood in the group. I feel like we’re laughing more, and the atmosphere is great. But you can’t get through a tournament on that alone – we have to be at our best.
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The Germany national team’s final friendly before the European Championships is fast approaching. Before the hosts open the tournament against Scotland on 14th June, Julian Nagelsmann’s side will face Greece in Mönchengladbach on Friday (20:45 CEST). Ahead of the game, Nagelsmann and attacker Kai Havertz spoke on Wednesday about their upcoming opponents, the forward line and more.
Julian Nagelsmann on…
…attacking options: We’re delighted that Fülle is back with us. It’s good to have an old-fashioned number 9 in the squad again. His role in the squad is clear. When Kai performs, he’s just ahead in the pecking order – and he has to perform. Fülle will get his opportunity and provide a goal threat.
…the final squad for the tournament: We have a starting XI in mind – we need a good performance tomorrow to confirm it. The players need to familiarise themselves with each other’s game. For the most part, we’ve made a decision on the final squad. But I’m not going to announce it now, and I’m not going to speak to the players missing out. The worst-case scenario is that someone gets injured and we have to bring a player back into the fold. It would be stupid to have that conversation now. The decision is essentially set in stone, and we’ll announce it after the game.
…Leroy Sané’s fitness: Leroy is an option for tomorrow. He’s been fully involved with the last two training sessions, and we’re happy with the progress he’s making. We have to bear in mind, though, that we won’t be able to start every game straight away. He needs to get some minutes under his belt tomorrow to get back into the swing of things.
…Friday’s friendly: A positive result is always good for self-confidence. We want to win. It’s difficult to predict what sort of team we’ll be up against because they’ve had a change of head coach. It’s a shame, because it means we can never be 100% prepared, but it can also give us an opportunity. We have a plan and we’re all singing from the same hymn sheet.
…Musiala, Wirtz and Pavlović: Jamal hasn’t trained for about three weeks now, and neither has Pavlo. Florian Wirtz is pretty much back to full fitness. All of them are training at full intensity.
…Kroos and Rüdiger: They haven’t been celebrating too much – they’re professionals. Antonio has to be a leader at the back and really have the bit between his teeth when it comes to defending. Toni will improve us going forward, although it wasn’t a bad attacking display against Ukraine either.
…Kroos’ international comeback: I thought about calling him up very early on. I see him as a very good player to have around the dressing room. He was very happy that I was thinking about bringing him back into the squad. Nevertheless, he isn’t here to be some sort of saviour.
…discord in the squad: I do sometimes ask the team for their opinions. For me, it’s all about whether we have a player disrupting proceedings. We were all in agreement that there’s no such player in the squad.
Kai Havertz on…
…Niclas Füllkrug: We get on very well. Healthy competition is always a part of football, and we both have different qualities. It’s all about putting our egos aside and focusing on what’s best for the team.
…the squad’s mentality: Defeats like the ones we’ve had in the last couple of years bring us closer together. Now we need to show that with our performances on the pitch.
…the feeling within the DFB camp: There’s a different mood in the group. I feel like we’re laughing more, and the atmosphere is great. But you can’t get through a tournament on that alone – we have to be at our best.
