For a long time there was speculation about the line-up, now Germany’s squad for the Olympic Games has been determined. One of them is Max Kruse.
With great anticipation and a squad of experienced players and current U21 European champions, coach Stefan Kuntz starts his Olympic adventure. The goal of the 19-member selection around Max Kruse, Nadiem Amiri and Maximilian Arnold, which the German Football Association announced on Monday with an anime-style video, is a medal. “With this team we want to go as far as possible and play for the Olympic medals,” said Kuntz, who leaves three of his 22 squad places vacant for the games in Japan.
In Niklas Dorsch, Ismail Jakobs, Arne Maier, Amos Pieper, David Raum, Anton Stach and Josha Vagnoman, the 58-year-old called seven players who became European champions with the U21 in Ljubljana about a month ago. “With the nomination of the squad, the anticipation for the Olympic Games, which was already huge before, rises immeasurably,” said Kuntz. The Leverkusen Amiri, Kruse von Union Berlin and Wolfsburg Arnold are the three players born before 1997 that Kuntz was allowed to nominate for his U23 selection.
Next week I’m going to Tokyo
The team will travel to Tokyo on July 13th, and the DFB selection will start the tournament in Yokohama on July 22nd with a new edition of the Rio Olympics final: five years after the lost final at the Maracanã Stadium, Brazil is the opponent again. Saudi Arabia on July 25th in Yokohama and the Ivory Coast on July 28th in Miyagi are other group opponents. The first two teams in the group advance to the quarter-finals, with the final taking place on August 7th in Yokohama.
As expected, Florian Müller from VfB Stuttgart is planned as the regular goalkeeper, the A-team experienced Benjamin Henrichs from RB Leipzig and Felix Uduokhai from FC Augsburg, who was in the squad of national coach Joachim Löw in November 2020, are also there. In addition, there are other players from the U21 selection from 2019, who had bought the ticket with their second EM place. In addition to Müller, Henrichs, Uduokhai and Amiri, these are Eduard Löwen, Arne Maier and Marco Richter. “It will be a very special experience for the 19 boys and the entire team to be part of Team Germany in Tokyo,” said Kuntz.
Max Kruse is “really up for it”
Arnold and Amiri celebrated the European Championship title with the German U21 national team in Poland in 2017, the 27-year-old Arnold was the team’s captain at the time. According to Kuntz, the 33-year-old veteran Kruse has already announced that he is “really up for the games”.
There was criticism from Kuntz of the lack of willingness to cooperate on the part of some Bundesliga clubs. “The willingness to support the Olympic team varied in the Bundesliga,” said Kuntz. “Unfortunately, some big clubs didn’t want to help as hoped, so I’m all the more pleased about the support from the rest of the clubs, which have made it possible for us to travel to Japan with this team.” Clubs such as Union Berlin, Hertha BSC or FC Augsburg each put two players on for the Olympics, other clubs are not even represented in the squad for the games with their professionals.
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.
