Leroy Sané and the big tournament stage – somehow they don’t fit together. The Munich native can do so much, but nothing seems to work out for him at the European Championships at home. Is the big Sané moment yet to come?
Julian Nagelsmann repeatedly emphasizes that he has “a very good connection” with Leroy Sané. “We have a very good understanding for each other,” says the national coach. Yes, Nagelsmann can definitely be described as a Sané understander and also a Sané fan. And that is why Nagelsmann was keen to have the Bayern pro, who is rather polarizing among the fans of the national football team, at the home European Championships.
Despite a three-game suspension in the run-up to the tournament after a red card in the friendly against Austria (0:2) and despite a pubic bone problem that had already affected Sané badly in the second half of the season at FC Bayern and led to a drastic drop in form and goal rate. And now: Sané was not a factor at the home tournament before the giants’ quarter-final against Spain on Friday (6 p.m.) in Stuttgart.
Musiala does what Sané is supposed to deliver
After three ineffective substitute appearances, Nagelsmann surprisingly brought on the now 28-year-old Sané for the first time in the 2-0 win in the round of 16 against Denmark, replacing Florian Wirtz. Sané was supposed to deliver what European Championship star Jamal Musiala did in the 2-0. “The intention was that – like with Jamal’s goal – we would have liked a few more situations with simple runs behind the chain. Leroy has very good depth in the game, very good speed,” explained Nagelsmann.
However, Sané’s strengths were not decisively evident in his 64th international match. And that has been the case throughout his entire tournament resume to date. Sané is the man who doesn’t shine in tournaments. He has made eleven appearances since his debut at the European Championships in 2016. These were appearances without a single goal and without much memorable value. The fans are waiting for the tournament Sané.
The tournaments from 2016 to today
Euro 2016: In the semi-final against hosts France, the 20-year-old Sané made his only brief appearance at the Euro in the 79th minute for Bastian Schweinsteiger. At this point, the game in Marseille was already lost with the score at 0:2.
Confederations Cup 2017: A year before the World Cup finals in Russia, national coach Joachim Löw foregoes several established national players at the Confederations Cup and wins the tournament with a promising team with many young players. Sané had cancelled his participation because of a nose operation. In retrospect, it was almost an own goal.
World Cup 2018: Löw surprisingly removes Sané from the World Cup squad after the training camp in South Tyrol. A hard blow for Sané, who never dreamed of it at the time.
Euro 2021: Sané was on the pitch in all four matches up to the early round of 16 exit against England. But he was in the starting eleven only once. He came on three times shortly before the end. No goal, no special action.
World Cup 2022: In Qatar, Sané missed the 1:2 opening match against Japan due to knee problems. In the second match against Spain, he was substituted on along with Niclas Füllkrug, who promptly scored the 1:1. In the tournament exit against Costa Rica (4:2), he played 90 minutes – goalless.
“It’s a bit annoying”
At the current European Championship, he has also scored zero goals and assists after 163 minutes of action. And yet Nagelsmann is unlikely to drop Sané, even if he will probably have to sit on the bench again against Spain. “It was Leroy’s first game from the start in a long time. It’s not that easy to get into it perfectly,” said the national coach indulgently after the Denmark game: “Especially in the second half, he did much better.”
In the real European Championship test against the strong Spaniards, Wirtz will again take the fourth offensive position alongside Ilkay Gündogan, Kai Havertz and Musiala. And Sané? All he can hope for is that the tournament lasts a little longer and that a sentence he said in the European Championship camp before the tournament started will come true: “It’s a bit annoying with my injury. But I just want to show my performance as far as possible, deliver, do my part to make it as far as possible, as far as possible to the title.”
Source: Stern
I am Pierce Boyd, a driven and ambitious professional working in the news industry. I have been writing for 24 Hours Worlds for over five years, specializing in sports section coverage. During my tenure at the publication, I have built an impressive portfolio of articles that has earned me a reputation as an experienced journalist and content creator.
