The U21 team wants to do better against England. Coach Di Salvo and his players want to learn lessons from the France game. An entertaining number game is only a marginal aspect for them.
On the flight to England, Youssoufa Moukoko & Co. had time to let the valuable insights from the France test sink in, despite all the anticipation of the next international classic for the U21s.
“It’s a shame that we lost. But this way we can compete with the best. We still have time until the European Championships and in the end we’ll be a really good team on the way to the European Championship,” said the 17-year-old Dortmund storm jewel after the 0-1 against France.
At the start of the European Championship season, the selection of the German Football Association in Magdeburg in front of 5427 spectators had to admit defeat against an opponent with great individual class. “We saw that we can keep up. We have things that we have to discuss that we need to improve. Hopefully we’ll start with that in England,” said coach Antonio Di Salvo before the next landmark appearance on Tuesday (8:45 p.m. / ProSiebenMaxx ) in Sheffield.
“We want these tests, we want to see where we stand against these top nations and we want to know where we need to improve for the European Championship,” said Stefan Kuntz’s successor, who, as a long-time assistant, has now been in office for a year as head coach .
Too many turnovers against France
In a number of good actions, the German delegation cited too many simple ball losses, sometimes a lack of courage or lost duels as reasons for the defeat through a remarkable goal by Amine Gouiri from Stade Rennes (53rd minute). “We don’t need to be down. If we work on the little things then I’m sure we’ll be well prepared for the EURO,” said defender Yann-Aurel Bisseck, who plays for Aarhus in Denmark.
The EURO finals will take place from June 9th to July 2nd, 2023 in Romania and Georgia. And as with the three final appearances in the last three editions and the triumphs in 2017 and 2021 under Kuntz, Di Salvo’s selection is also chasing the title with a team that, measured by market values, does not reach the top level of France or England. The value of these squads is estimated at well over 300 million euros, that of the German team at just under 100 million.
Market values don’t win titles
These entertaining number games have no influence on Di Salvo’s work. Especially since, as Kuntz’s confidante for many years, he knows very well that market stocks don’t win titles. “We all know that they have a higher market value. But I was only interested in our game and our team. We also have quality, which we showed on the pitch,” said the 43-year-old. “Ultimately, it’s all just numbers and numbers can be defeated collectively. Unfortunately, we didn’t manage to do that today.”
The 21-year-old Bisseck smiled at this topic. “Of course it’s interesting to know that you’re playing against a 90 million center-back now because the total is just astronomically high,” said the center-back. “But once the game kicks off, it doesn’t matter.” In the end, the team has to work.
Source: Stern
I have been working in the news industry for over 6 years, first as a reporter and now as an editor. I have covered politics extensively, and my work has appeared in major newspapers and online news outlets around the world. In addition to my writing, I also contribute regularly to 24 Hours World.
