Updated July 1, 2021, 11:07 am
- 09:37 am: ➤ Ballack brings Kimmich into conversation as captain
- 07:38 am: Vogts makes players and clubs responsible
➤ Ballack brings Kimmich into conversation as captain
The former national team captain Michael Ballack (44) considers a change of the captain under the new national soccer coach Hansi Flick to be possible and brings in midfielders Joshua Kimmich talks about the successor to Manuel Neuer.
“Maybe it’s for Flick an option to change something in the position of the captain, also to create new stimuli “, explained Ballack in his column for the RedaktionsNetzwerk Deutschland (RND):” At that time I took over the captaincy from Oliver Kahn. That can always be a variant and could also help Kimmich to develop even more as a personality. “
“Under Flick, Kimmich is now called upon to take the next step as the leader of the Bayern block and the national team,” stressed Ballack. New but remain “of course the undisputed number one and an absolute exceptional player”. Kai Havertz “was one of those people who won me over at this European Championship,” said Ballack. The offensive man from Chelsea will be “an important player for the DFB in the future”. Like Kimmich or his club colleague Leon Goretzka, he is “not yet one who goes ahead”.
The other EM news of the day:
England’s ex-striker Shearer ennobles Southgate: “So proud of you”
11:01 am: England striker legend Alan Shearer wrote an emotional letter to national coach Gareth Southgate after the 2-0 victory in the European Championship round of 16 against Germany. “Thank you for helping us smile again,” said the letter published on Thursday by the sports portal “The Athletic”. “We are so proud of you.”
In his letter, the 50-year-old Shearer mainly attacks Southgate’s missed penalty Germany in the 1996 European Championship semi-finals. At that time, the former defender was the only Englishman who missed, Germany moved into the final at Wembley Stadium.
“Gareth, I never blamed you. I never saw you as the one who was me and England cost a trophy at the European Championships 25 years ago, “wrote Shearer.” You stumbled, Gareth. But you got up again. And now it’s finally time to let go. “
In the European Championship quarter-finals, the English meet the Ukraine on Saturday (9:00 p.m., LIVE with us in the ticker) in Rome. In the semi-finals and finals, they would then be able to play again at their home Wembley Stadium.
“We have a chance now, don’t we? I’m not saying we have to go to the final or we should win it. But we have a chance, a good chance. Maybe there will never be a better one,” Shearer wrote.
Leipzig striker Poulsen fit again before the Danish EM quarter-finals
10:43 am: RB Leipzig striker Yussuf Poulsen is likely to be available again for the Danish national team in the European Championship quarter-finals against the Czech Republic on Saturday. The 27-year-old was last absent from the 4-0 win against Wales due to a muscle injury.
Before the Danes left for Baku, Poulsen said on Thursday: “I’m fine. The plan is to do part of the training today, train fully tomorrow and then play on Saturday.”
The only question is whether Poulsen will return to the starting line-up against the Czech Republic (6:00 p.m. / ARD and Magenta TV), as his representative Kasper Dolberg from OGC Nice scored two goals against Wales.
The Bundesliga professional explains his muscular problems in the past few days with the great stress for the players who, after a season that was very compressed due to the corona, would now have to play a long tournament with their clubs. “Mentally it is not difficult to keep yourself going. It is a unique opportunity to play a European Championship partly at home. We have been looking forward to it for a long time,” said Poulsen.
“But you can see the physical problems everywhere. There are a lot of players who run around with little things. There have been round of 16 games here in which four or five players had to be replaced when they were injured.”
Spaniards with great respect for Switzerland
09:59 am: Spain’s national players have noticeable respect for their opponents in the quarter-finals, Switzerland, even if the Swiss and southern Europeans themselves are missing the big names in the EM squad. In an interview with the sports newspaper “As” (Thursday) attacker Ferran Torres also recalled the last two matches in the Nations League.
“Those were really tough games,” said the 21-year-old Manchester City striker. “They press, they make it difficult.” Defender César Azpilicueta predicted a “complicated game” in an interview with “Marca” (Thursday).
In October 2020, the Spaniards won the home match in Madrid 1-0. A month later, a goal in the 89th minute by Gerard Moreno saved the Spaniards from defeat in the 1-1 draw in Basel. This Friday (6 p.m. / ZDF and Magenta TV and live in our ticker) in St. Petersburg, the two teams will face each other in the quarter-finals of the European Football Championship.
Vogts makes players and clubs responsible
07:38 am: The former national coach Berti Vogts takes after the From the German national soccer team in the European Championship round of 16, the players and the clubs to the duty. “The players should now think about why it wasn’t enough for more at this EM,” wrote Vogts in his EM column for the Rheinische Post: “But the Bundesliga clubs must also draw their conclusions from the EM: Is everything really right with the training, do you set the right priorities? What are other countries doing better? “
Vogts expects “new accents” from the future national coach Hansi Flick. You have to come to the point where you don’t just wait for the mistakes of others, but create things yourself: “That is exactly what was missing against the English: the courage to go into one-on-one situations more often, to move into the penalty area to to put the opponent in unrest. “
More about the EM 2021:
With material from dpa, afp and sid
After an eventful group stage, the European Championship has reached its crucial phase. Now every game is all or nothing. Here you will find – constantly updated – the best pictures of the knockout round of the EM 2021.
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