News Detail

Gosens: “We’re really excited”

Germany will face England in the round of 16 at EURO 2020 at Wembley on Tuesday (18:00 CEST). Robin Gosens and Kai Havertz both spoke to the press on Sunday ahead of that crunch clash.

Robin Gosens on..

... Wembley: We’re really excited. Taking on England in England is huge. I’ve never played at Wembley and I can’t wait.

...tactics: England are really good going forward, so we will have to be strong defensively. If we can combine a compact defence with our attacking game, I’m confident of our chances.

...media coverage: After the Portugal game we were the nation’s heroes, but after the Hungary game we were zeroes again. This contrast is too big for me. Obviously everything wasn’t perfect, however we still made it through the toughest group in second. I’m confident that we can build on our performances against France and Portugal and reach the final. That’s our aim.

...the advantages of data analysis: It helps me immensely. Obviously actually putting things into practice is completely different, but data analysis really helps me to be prepared as best I can for opponents.

...EURO 96: I obviously heard a lot about it later on. Thinking about it gives you a good feeling and we want to repeat that. We will give our all to be successful.

...Jamal Musiala: He’s only 18 years old and he’s playing at the EUROs. When I was 18, I was hanging out with my mates and was nowhere a tournament like this. He’s got a great career ahead of him if he carries on like this.

...having no German fans in London: It’s obviously a shame for the fans, but it will provide us with additional motivation. It can really drive you on when a whole stadium is against you. We will look to motivate ourselves by trying to keep the England fans as quiet as possible in their own stadium.

Kai Havertz on...

...playing in London: It will be a special game for me of course. I have already played at Wembley once or twice. It’s a big game for everyone and we’ll do all we can to make sure we leave as winners.

...being a thorn in England’s side: This will be my first game against England, so you can’t say that yet. Hopefully I will be on Tuesday, though.

...the advantages of playing club football in England: The only advantage that us players who play in England have is that we probably know a little better how their football is played. We’ve still got a number of experienced players, though, who have already played against England.

...praise and criticism after his goal against Hungary: They always look the easiest goals to score, however you can only really gets things wrong with a ball like that, so I’m just happy that it went in. If I’d missed, I’d have been criticised again. You get a lot of praise after a good game and equally a lot of criticism after a bad performance. Ultimately, the only opinions that matter are mine and the coach’s.

...training penalties: You have to be prepared for all outcomes, so we are taking a few penalties after training. However, the 120 minutes prior to that are more important, which means we will try and win the game before then. If it came down to it, I’d take a penalty.

...contact with his Chelsea teammates: We’re always in contact. Timo and Toni also get on well with our Chelsea teammates. There’s definitely been a bit of chat between us all.

...working alongside Thomas Müller: Thomas is like our third assistant coach. He’s really professional, but also funny and gets a lot of players involved. He’s really important for communication on the pitch and helps to improve us as a side.

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Germany will face England in the round of 16 at EURO 2020 at Wembley on Tuesday (18:00 CEST). Robin Gosens and Kai Havertz both spoke to the press on Sunday ahead of that crunch clash.

Robin Gosens on..

... Wembley: We’re really excited. Taking on England in England is huge. I’ve never played at Wembley and I can’t wait.

...tactics: England are really good going forward, so we will have to be strong defensively. If we can combine a compact defence with our attacking game, I’m confident of our chances.

...media coverage: After the Portugal game we were the nation’s heroes, but after the Hungary game we were zeroes again. This contrast is too big for me. Obviously everything wasn’t perfect, however we still made it through the toughest group in second. I’m confident that we can build on our performances against France and Portugal and reach the final. That’s our aim.

...the advantages of data analysis: It helps me immensely. Obviously actually putting things into practice is completely different, but data analysis really helps me to be prepared as best I can for opponents.

...EURO 96: I obviously heard a lot about it later on. Thinking about it gives you a good feeling and we want to repeat that. We will give our all to be successful.

...Jamal Musiala: He’s only 18 years old and he’s playing at the EUROs. When I was 18, I was hanging out with my mates and was nowhere a tournament like this. He’s got a great career ahead of him if he carries on like this.

...having no German fans in London: It’s obviously a shame for the fans, but it will provide us with additional motivation. It can really drive you on when a whole stadium is against you. We will look to motivate ourselves by trying to keep the England fans as quiet as possible in their own stadium.

Kai Havertz on...

...playing in London: It will be a special game for me of course. I have already played at Wembley once or twice. It’s a big game for everyone and we’ll do all we can to make sure we leave as winners.

...being a thorn in England’s side: This will be my first game against England, so you can’t say that yet. Hopefully I will be on Tuesday, though.

...the advantages of playing club football in England: The only advantage that us players who play in England have is that we probably know a little better how their football is played. We’ve still got a number of experienced players, though, who have already played against England.

...praise and criticism after his goal against Hungary: They always look the easiest goals to score, however you can only really gets things wrong with a ball like that, so I’m just happy that it went in. If I’d missed, I’d have been criticised again. You get a lot of praise after a good game and equally a lot of criticism after a bad performance. Ultimately, the only opinions that matter are mine and the coach’s.

...training penalties: You have to be prepared for all outcomes, so we are taking a few penalties after training. However, the 120 minutes prior to that are more important, which means we will try and win the game before then. If it came down to it, I’d take a penalty.

...contact with his Chelsea teammates: We’re always in contact. Timo and Toni also get on well with our Chelsea teammates. There’s definitely been a bit of chat between us all.

...working alongside Thomas Müller: Thomas is like our third assistant coach. He’s really professional, but also funny and gets a lot of players involved. He’s really important for communication on the pitch and helps to improve us as a side.