Quick acceleration, sharp passing and an exercise with plenty of shots were on the agenda for the Germany U21 team’s final training session on Thursday evening in Kassel, as they prepared for the start of the international season in the Auestadion today at 18:15 CEST. It will be Stefan Kuntz’s first game as the U21s’ coach.
You can feel the 54-year-old’s anticipation ahead of his first match in charge and it rubbed off on the players in training: “It’s great fun working with the players.and my first impressions have been very positive,” said Kuntz, who continued: “There is plenty of potential in the squad and we want to make the most of it, hopefully straight away from the first game against Slovakia.” It’s striking how the 1996 European Champion always looks to speak with his players, taking time to explain his philosophy from the very beginning.
Arnold: “We want to achieve a lot this season”
“You notice that he has experienced a lot in football and that we can profit from his experience,” said Maximilian Arnold. The VfL Wolfsburg man has been a fixture in the DFB-team, having already played ten times for the U21 side and is thus ready to take ion more responsibility. “We want to achieve a lot this season,” said the 22-year-old. He added: “The friendly against Slovakia will be a good chance for us to grow together as a team as quickly as possible.”
The overall aim is to reach the 2017 European U21 Championship in Poland and Germany are currently in a good position as they are leading their qualification group but they haven’t confirmed their ticket yet. “Reaching the finals of the European Championship is our primary aim,” said Kuntz, he added: “We obviously want to confirm qualification as soon as possible as playing in tournaments as big as that is something special. Following the short trip to Kassel, qualification will continue in Seinäjoki on Tuesday (18:00 CEST) when the U20s will take on Finland.
Kuntz without Gnabry, Werner, Haberer and Mukhtar
The friendly against Slovakia is the perfect opportunity for the new DFB coach to get an in-depth look at a number of players, try new things and fine-tune the his playing system. Kuntz is sure that Germany will be up against a “robust and compact opponent with individual quality” when they take on Slovakia. The fans are also excited for the U21s first international of the season, with more than 5500 tickets already sold for the match.
Kuntz will be without Timo Werner (RB Leipzig, ill), Janik Haberer (SC Freiburg, muscle strain), Hany Mukhtar (Bröndby IF, muscle problem) and Serge Gnabry (Werder Bremen), who is completing a week of recovery sessions after his workload at the Olympics, for the international against Slovakia. “We don’t want to take any risks,” explained Kuntz: “We have selected a large squad and have the opportunity to try a few things.”