News

Löw ahead of England: "I'm planning to start Halstenberg"

Ahead of the Germany national team’s trip to London for the international classic against England at Wembley on Friday evening (21:00 CET), head coach Joachim Löw has been speaking in Berlin about the Three Lions, starting XI candidates and the injured captain Manuel Neuer. DFB.de brings you all the key quotes

Joachim Löw on...

... the friendly against England: We’re looking forward to the match. Wembley has a special charm. We’re delighted to play in front of such a crowd. We are coming up against a top-class opponent, a team that has developed greatly in the past two or three years. They can attack with a high tempo. England have quick players; the team is very well organised and attacks early. They are one of the best teams around right now when it comes to transitioning. We need to adapt to that. We can’t allow England to dominate possession. We need to be well organised and react quickly when possession changes hands.

... tests of character ahead of the World Cup: We want to play a good match; the result is always an important component. But I know that there are some things that I want to try out and experiment with. Now we have a certain period for testing out things. I don’t want to play with the same players that always play, but instead prepare others for games like this.

... newcomer Marcel Halstenberg: Marcel Halstenberg is in my planned starting XI, because he has been playing well for Leipzig for a long time now. He is physically strong, solid in the air. While he is with us, of course I want to see how he does.

... Toni Kroos: Toni Kroos was sick yesterday and only took part in the warm-up today. I need to see how he feels today and talk with him. Maybe he will be rested if he doesn’t feel at full fitness.

... Sandro Wagner: In attack, we have players like Timo Werner, Julian Draxler or Leroy Sané, they are quite different players. Sandro Wagner plays in the middle, hassles the opponents and is very dangerous from crosses.

... Manuel Neuer‘s injury: I haven't been in contact with him during the last two weeks and haven’t heard anything new. But I’m not losing any sleep from what I know from the doctors. I know that Manuel is recovering according to schedule and will be back in training next year. I know from our doctors that he should be back for the World Cup, so I am relaxed.

...plans for the World Cup squad: International matches obviously play a big role, but on the other hand we have just two matches in the new year before it’s time to nominate players. A large portion of our observations will be done on a club level. Next year we will be looking very closely at who is doing what for their clubs. At home I have player profiles detailing each player’s strengths, weaknesses and how we want to play. With some players it’s a given. For example, we don’t need to talk about the likes of Mats Hummels, Toni Kroos or others, leaders that belong to our core group. It’s important that each position is covered by two players. Our aim is to have like-for-like replacements for everyone. There will definitely be some tricky decisions, for sure. In some positions we simply have too much depth.

Sami Khedira on…

... Competition in his position: I’ve been part of the squad for eight years and from day one the questions haven’t changed. Even if it sounds boring – I’m simply delighted to be together with such players. They are good lads and I can learn from them. We have a big goal of winning the World Cup and for that we need good players and depth. For that reason, I’m not unhappy about the current situation in the team.

... top international friendlies: You notice a development, that over the years, many players have pulled out of games like this because of minor injuries. That’s different now. These are games that make us better, on an individual and team level. You can also try things out against opponents like this, which is a really good thing I feel.

...Mario Götze: Mario has given off a very relaxed vibe. The most important thing is his performances, which have been very good for Dortmund. We need top players and he is back to 100%. I’m happy that he is back.

...the development of English football: When you think of England and the Premier League, the first thing you think of is all the money that has been invested there. But I think the English FA has recognised, much like the DFB many years ago, that the education needs to be improved too. You can see that in work going on in the academies in England. It’s impressive how far the young players have developed and how many top players they have that have been performing at a high level for their clubs in recent years.

...Sandro Wagner: The striking thing about Sandro is how he recognises mistakes and learns from them. He is living proof that you should never give up. It’s special to be called up to the Germany team, even at a later age.

Sandro Wagner on

...English football: English football is a different kind of football. The feeling and atmosphere is quite different to in the Bundesliga. That says a lot to me.

...his World Cup chances: I’m always happy to be part of the national team, it’s an honour. I can enjoy that because I wasn’t here for a long time. The World Cup is a long way away and I will try to focus on my job and the rest will come. If I think too much about the World Cup I will neglect my day-to-day job.

...Mario Götze: I’ve only just met him properly, he’s a really pleasant chap. I’m very positively surprised. As a German football fan, I am happy that he is back, he brings a lot of quality.

created by dfb/mmc/jm

Ahead of the Germany national team’s trip to London for the international classic against England at Wembley on Friday evening (21:00 CET), head coach Joachim Löw has been speaking in Berlin about the Three Lions, starting XI candidates and the injured captain Manuel Neuer. DFB.de brings you all the key quotes

Joachim Löw on...

... the friendly against England: We’re looking forward to the match. Wembley has a special charm. We’re delighted to play in front of such a crowd. We are coming up against a top-class opponent, a team that has developed greatly in the past two or three years. They can attack with a high tempo. England have quick players; the team is very well organised and attacks early. They are one of the best teams around right now when it comes to transitioning. We need to adapt to that. We can’t allow England to dominate possession. We need to be well organised and react quickly when possession changes hands.

... tests of character ahead of the World Cup: We want to play a good match; the result is always an important component. But I know that there are some things that I want to try out and experiment with. Now we have a certain period for testing out things. I don’t want to play with the same players that always play, but instead prepare others for games like this.

... newcomer Marcel Halstenberg: Marcel Halstenberg is in my planned starting XI, because he has been playing well for Leipzig for a long time now. He is physically strong, solid in the air. While he is with us, of course I want to see how he does.

... Toni Kroos: Toni Kroos was sick yesterday and only took part in the warm-up today. I need to see how he feels today and talk with him. Maybe he will be rested if he doesn’t feel at full fitness.

... Sandro Wagner: In attack, we have players like Timo Werner, Julian Draxler or Leroy Sané, they are quite different players. Sandro Wagner plays in the middle, hassles the opponents and is very dangerous from crosses.

... Manuel Neuer‘s injury: I haven't been in contact with him during the last two weeks and haven’t heard anything new. But I’m not losing any sleep from what I know from the doctors. I know that Manuel is recovering according to schedule and will be back in training next year. I know from our doctors that he should be back for the World Cup, so I am relaxed.

...plans for the World Cup squad: International matches obviously play a big role, but on the other hand we have just two matches in the new year before it’s time to nominate players. A large portion of our observations will be done on a club level. Next year we will be looking very closely at who is doing what for their clubs. At home I have player profiles detailing each player’s strengths, weaknesses and how we want to play. With some players it’s a given. For example, we don’t need to talk about the likes of Mats Hummels, Toni Kroos or others, leaders that belong to our core group. It’s important that each position is covered by two players. Our aim is to have like-for-like replacements for everyone. There will definitely be some tricky decisions, for sure. In some positions we simply have too much depth.

Sami Khedira on…

... Competition in his position: I’ve been part of the squad for eight years and from day one the questions haven’t changed. Even if it sounds boring – I’m simply delighted to be together with such players. They are good lads and I can learn from them. We have a big goal of winning the World Cup and for that we need good players and depth. For that reason, I’m not unhappy about the current situation in the team.

... top international friendlies: You notice a development, that over the years, many players have pulled out of games like this because of minor injuries. That’s different now. These are games that make us better, on an individual and team level. You can also try things out against opponents like this, which is a really good thing I feel.

...Mario Götze: Mario has given off a very relaxed vibe. The most important thing is his performances, which have been very good for Dortmund. We need top players and he is back to 100%. I’m happy that he is back.

...the development of English football: When you think of England and the Premier League, the first thing you think of is all the money that has been invested there. But I think the English FA has recognised, much like the DFB many years ago, that the education needs to be improved too. You can see that in work going on in the academies in England. It’s impressive how far the young players have developed and how many top players they have that have been performing at a high level for their clubs in recent years.

...Sandro Wagner: The striking thing about Sandro is how he recognises mistakes and learns from them. He is living proof that you should never give up. It’s special to be called up to the Germany team, even at a later age.

Sandro Wagner on

...English football: English football is a different kind of football. The feeling and atmosphere is quite different to in the Bundesliga. That says a lot to me.

...his World Cup chances: I’m always happy to be part of the national team, it’s an honour. I can enjoy that because I wasn’t here for a long time. The World Cup is a long way away and I will try to focus on my job and the rest will come. If I think too much about the World Cup I will neglect my day-to-day job.

...Mario Götze: I’ve only just met him properly, he’s a really pleasant chap. I’m very positively surprised. As a German football fan, I am happy that he is back, he brings a lot of quality.