Blankenhain is history. The DFB entourage is clearing the training camp in Thuringia for Harry Kane’s English team. Herzogenaurach is the next preparation station. But the focus is also on London.
Manuel Neuer was sure to get his comeback plan off the ground. Brajan Gruda received a birthday serenade from his new colleagues and Julian Nagelsmann watched closely, his foot on a European Championship ball. After the final whistle of the last training session in the training camp, the ICE train was waiting for the national coach and his now well-filled European Championship squad.
The English team, including captain and Bayern striker Harry Kane, will be taking over the quarters in Blankenhain for the European Football Championship. Exactly two weeks before the opening match in Munich against Scotland, the DFB entourage travelled by train from Thuringia to Franconia on Friday. The large rain front in the south of Germany is not expected to disrupt the European Championship schedule.
The national team wants to start the second stage of preparation for the home tournament at DFB supplier Adidas, which will be replaced by US market leader Nike in 2027 for many millions of euros
Nagelsmann satisfied with start
Nagelsmann expressed his satisfaction after the first phase. “We had top conditions in the training camp. Although not all players could be there for the entire period due to the DFB Cup and Champions League finals, among other things, we made the most of the days and made good progress as a team,” he said on Friday.
The mood and tournament optimism have continued to grow in Blankenhain, even if the workload has been limited by the coaching staff. “We had to give the boys a little breathing room right from the start so that they could tick the season off, mentally too,” said Nagelsmann.
Sporting director Rudi Völler likes what he sees. Nevertheless, he sees no reason for excessive euphoria. “We don’t need to freak out that everything is working well. The days here in Weimar were just a taste of things, now comes the fine-tuning in Herzogenaurach,” said the 64-year-old.
Looking to Wembley: Dortmund vs Real Madrid
On Saturday, the focus will also be on London at the “Home Ground”. Coaches, players, support staff – everyone will be sitting in front of the TV screens, eagerly watching who will be crowned the best club team in Europe at Wembley Stadium, Borussia Dortmund with goal scorer Niclas Füllkrug and defender Nico Schlotterbeck or Real Madrid with the leaders Toni Kroos and Antonio Rüdiger, who are set for the German starting eleven for the European Championship.
“I wish all four players a win in the final,” Nagelsmann said diplomatically beforehand. “But not all four will make it, only two.” So at the beginning of the week he will welcome two beaming Champions League champions and two frustrated losers to his quarters. “Of course, when you lose a Champions League final, it hurts a lot. But in the end, the European Championship simply outshines everything,” Nagelsmann believes. Kroos, Rüdiger, Füllkrug, Schlotterbeck, “all of them are super focused” as the tournament approaches.
Two more tests against Ukraine and Greece
On paper, Nagelsmann’s European Championship team is practically set. The formation that won the remarkable March victories against France (2-0) and Holland (2-1) is also set to start the tournament against Scotland on June 14. With one exception: Nagelsmann has earmarked Neuer as the European Championship goalkeeper. In March, the 38-year-old from Munich had to leave after an injury during training and was replaced by his eternal crown prince Marc-André ter Stegen. In training on Friday, Neuer demonstrated that he is ready for the comeback.
The field players’ formation in front of Neuer is as follows: Kimmich, Tah, Rüdiger, Mittelstädt – Andrich, Kroos – Musiala, Gündogan, Wirtz – Havertz. The clear allocation of roles by the national coach to the regulars, challengers and substitutes conveys “confidence and gives a good feeling,” said Leverkusen’s double winner Jonathan Tah. “But you shouldn’t sit back,” warned the 28-year-old, who is personally playing the best season of his career.
On Monday (8.45 p.m.), Nagelsmann can field his dream eleven, with the exception of Kroos and Rüdiger, for the penultimate European Championship test in Nuremberg against Ukraine. The Real duo will then only be involved in the European Championship dress rehearsal four days later in Mönchengladbach against Greece. Bayern striker Leroy Sané will then also be allowed to play again after his three-game suspension. For Völler, “the two international matches should not be underestimated, even if they are only preparation games.” He is hoping for victories three and four in the European Championship year. “That will give our own team more confidence, but of course also the population.”
Source: Stern
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