Fully focussed on achieving a medal, the Germany Olympic team face Nigeria today (21:00 CEST) in their semi final at the Arena Corinthians in Sao Paulo. Head coach Horst Hrubesch and his team are expecting an intensive game against physically strong opposition, who will really test them.
"It is no coincidence that Nigeria are in the semi final", says Hrubesch. "We have been intensively observing them and we have seen some really strong performances from them in the tournament so far. The Nigerian players look for one-on-one situations, switch the ball quickly and are very strong going forward. They play very confidently and live by their mentality." Hrubesch avoided all questions about a potential final against hosts Brazil at the Maracana in Rio de Janeiro: "It makes no sense to talk about the final now. First, we need to get past this difficult semi final challenge. If we manage that, then we can start discussing the final."
Selke: "Of course, Rio is our goal"
The players are also not thinking about the final just yet. "Of course, Rio is our goal", says striker Davie Selke. "But first we have the semi final in Sao Paulo, and we will need to be at our absolute best to walk away as winners." The 21-year-old from RB Leipzig emphasised that the team want to give something back to the head coach in his last tournament: "It is not always the case that you have a coach that is always behind you. We are fighting for ourselves, but also for the head coach."
With a win against Nigeria and progression to the final, Horst Hrubesch’s team could make history. It would be the first time that a Germany squad has reached the final at the Olympic Games. The silver medal would then be secure and their best performance, a bronze achieved in the 1988 Olympics, would be beaten. "We are desperate to get to the final. We want a medal", says world champion Matthias Ginter. He could return to the Maracana on Saturday, where the 2014 victory with the first team took place.
All 17 players available
Horst Hrubesch has all 17 players at his disposal for the semi final. The captain Leon Goretzka, who picked up a shoulder injury, was sent back to Germany before the quarterfinal against Portugal. The head coach decided to go without a replacement. "Luckily, we didn’t pick up any significant knocks against Portugal", says the 65-year-old. "All players are fit and available for selection."
Despite the strength of their opponents, Hrubesch believes in his team’s quality and their ability to progress to the final. "The boys live it", he says, and adds how proud he is of their performance so far: "I don’t have to be strict or moan at them. They regulate themselves." So, now the boys just need to take the next big step towards the Olympic final.
