The Nations League starts with a bang for Germany!
From 8.45 p.m. (RTL and BILD live ticker) the national team has to play European champions Italy in Bologna.
And national coach Hansi Flick (57) has a big surprise ready in the starting line-up! In defense, Leipzig’s Benjamin Henrichs (25) is allowed to play right from the start.
Henrichs, who is preferred to David Raum (24/Hoffenheim), has only played six international matches in his entire career. His last starting eleven was in November 2020 in the embarrassing 6-0 loss to Spain. In his nine games as national coach, Flick Henrichs only came on once.
Flick before kick-off on RTL: “We want Benny to be high and at the same time we have opted for his defensive qualities.”
Also noteworthy: Ex-Bayern coach Flick brings a pure Bayern midfield! Joshua Kimmich (27), Leon Goretzka (27), Leroy Sané (26), Serge Gnabry (26) and Thomas Müller (32) are the heart of the team. With Manuel Neuer (36) there are a total of seven Bayern professionals.
From the Dortmund block, Niklas Süle (26) is the only player in the starting XI. In addition to Süle, Flick could have resorted to BVB stars Nico Schlotterbeck (22), Karim Adeyemi (20), Marco Reus (33/was absent last week due to an infection) and Julian Brandt (26), but decided on the championship Midfield.
Flick: “We thought about it for a long time. In the end it was a gut feeling.”
The complete line-up of the DFB-Elf:
Flick: “We want to set an example and be active right from the start. We want to show what we set out to do, to put the opponent under pressure and create chances. It’s not just about winning the Nations League games, the players also have to show themselves for the World Cup. It’s important that we now have equal opponents like Italy.”
