test match
DFB-Elf with newcomer Wolf and returnee Can against Peru
Marius Wolf (r) is in the DFB starting eleven against Peru
© Arne Dedert/dpa
The German national soccer team will play Peru in the first international match of the year with newcomer Marius Wolf and returnee Emre Can in the starting XI.
The German national soccer team will play Peru in the first international match of the year with newcomer Marius Wolf and returnee Emre Can in the starting XI.
As the third professional from the Bundesliga leader Borussia Dortmund, national coach Hansi Flick offers defender Nico Schlotterbeck in Mainz. From the German record champions FC Bayern Munich, on the other hand, only midfielder Joshua Kimmich, who led the DFB selection in his 75th international match as captain, starts.
In addition to Kimmich, Leipzig full-back David Raum is the only remaining player from the formation that started against Costa Rica on December 1st in the bitter World Cup defeat. Flick is also making a system change. He starts with two strikers, Bremen’s Niclas Füllkrug and Leipzig’s Timo Werner. For the first time, 19-year-old Leverkusen player Florian Wirtz is in the starting XI, who, like Werner, missed the World Cup with an injury.
“He has the right track under control, both offensively and defensively,” said Flick about Wolf. The national coach said of the new tactic: “We are absolutely convinced that the team will play well.” But “not everything” could work in the first international match after the World Cup.
Neuendorf: Fans want to see emotions on the pitch
DFB President Bernd Neuendorf emphasized the importance of better sporting performances by the national team. “Identification also comes from emotions, and people want to see these emotions on the pitch,” said the 61-year-old shortly before the international match against Peru on ZDF. That was missing in the preliminary round at the World Cup in Qatar. “Triggering these emotions is the key,” said Neuendorf. The spark must fly.
The new sports director Rudi Völler is of enormous importance on the way back into the hearts of the fans. “It’s an uncanny presence from him and a high intensity,” said Neuendorf about the former DFB team boss. “He has a natural authority, also when it comes to addressing the players.”
The German starting eleven
ter Stegen – Wolf, Ginter, Schlotterbeck, Raum – Kimmich, Can – Wirtz, Havertz – Füllkrug, Werner
