Et are absurd times. Seldom has this been as clear as on Monday at the press conference with Joachim Löw before the German national team’s game against Spain in Seville on Tuesday (8.45 p.m. in the FAZ live ticker for the Nations League and on ARD). If it was just about sporting questions and findings from the most recent game in the Nations League, suddenly the news broke in that it might not have been so smart that the game against Ukraine last Saturday was played.
Peter Penders
Deputy Editor in Charge of Sports.
Four players and the opponent’s manager tested positive for the corona virus on Friday. Because further tests on the day of the match on Saturday did not produce a positive result and, surprisingly, the remaining professionals were not counted in contact group 1, the game against Ukraine was considered safe and could take place. But little is certain these days: on Monday the Ukrainian association reported that two players who had played against Germany and one other substitute had tested positive.
“I’m already surprised,” said Loew. Certainly, this message will also take a back seat to all questions within the team about who will play against Spain – assuming negative tests – in this “final” for group victory in the Nations League and in which position. “Our doctor has assured us that a player is not infectious if he has just tested negative,” said Löw, “so I assume that it will stay that way for us as well.” There is plenty of space in this limbo for concentrated preparation? “We can only strictly adhere to our rules and we do it very disciplined. I assume that everyone else will do it very conscientiously, ”said Löw. A noble wish that all Bundesliga clubs share with him.
Read the entire interview with DFB director Oliver Bierhoff
In Switzerland, Ukraine was allowed to continue preparing for the game against Switzerland on Tuesday in consultation with the European Football Union Uefa and the authorities in Lucerne. It is unclear whether the game will kick off. Yevgeni Makarenko and Eduard Sobol, who played at 1: 3 against the German selection, and Dimitri Risnyk were replaced by players from the U-21 selection. Before the final training on Monday, the entire team was tested again.
For the German team, there is more than one game in the Nations League on the program in Seville, in which a draw would be enough to reach the final round in autumn next year. Above all, this game against Spain is a determination of the position that could say more about the level of development of the team than the pure record of wins, draws and defeats. According to these statistical criteria, the DFB selection does well. First in the European Championship qualification against the Netherlands, in 15 games since the beginning of 2019 nine wins, five draws and only one defeat.
The self-loving look at such balance sheets has already been seriously misleading. Defending champion Germany traveled to the 2018 World Cup with ten wins in ten qualifying games. The national coach in particular felt absolutely up to date, but everyone together crashed into reality. The German team was eliminated in the preliminary round. It would therefore be advisable to look at results carefully from experience. Especially since a finding would have to be more serious than the reference to victories against Estonia, Northern Ireland, Belarus, a Czech B-Elf or a weakened Ukraine: There has only been one victory against the top nations since the World Cup (September 2019, 4-2 in the Netherlands) .
But that should be the standard – under normal circumstances. The time for experiments is now over, Löw said after the victory against the Czech Republic. There can be no question of the possibility of slowly getting used to the EM. “We have to continue to be flexible,” said Löw with a view to the fact that the defense has to be changed again because of Rüdiger’s suspension. The fact that the sports director of the German Football Association, Oliver Bierhoff, in an interview with the FAZ highlighted the relevance of a good performance at the European Championship for the national coach as well, does not in the least mean to Löw as a vote of no confidence: “We have a great relationship of trust. It’s always the case with the national team that you think from tournament to tournament. ”At the moment, however, you’re thinking of completely different test results.
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