Frankfurt/Main. With Max Kruse, Nadiem Amiri and Maximilian Arnold at the helm, Stefan Kuntz’s DFB team is going to the Olympic Games in Tokyo. The coach also nominated seven players on Monday who had surprisingly become U21 European champions just a month ago.
“With the nomination of the squad, the anticipation for the Olympic Games, which was already huge before, increases immeasurably,” says Kuntz: “It will be a very special experience for the 19 boys and the entire team to be part of Team Germany in Tokyo be.”
Kuntz was allowed to nominate three players who were born before 1997. The biggest surprise is probably Kruse, who has not worn the DFB jersey since 2015. The current professional from Union Berlin was thrown from the squad by national coach Löw because of indiscipline. Amiri (Bayer Leverkusen) and Maximilian Arnold (VfL Wolfsburg), who trained at Dynamo Dresden and was born in Riesa, won the U21 European Championship title under Kuntz in 2017.
Coach Kuntz angry about Bundesliga clubs
The U21 national coach also criticized some clubs. “The willingness to support the Olympic team varied in the Bundesliga. Unfortunately, some big clubs didn’t want to help as hoped,” he said. His goal is clear: “We want to get as far as possible and play for the Olympic medals.”
As announced, the new U21 European champions form the framework of the team. Niklas Dorsch (KAA Gent), Ismail Jakobs (1.FC Cologne), Arne Maier (Hertha BSC), Amos Pieper (Arminia Bielefeld), David Raum (TSG Hoffenheim), Anton Stach (SpVgg Greuther Fürth) and Josha Vagnoman (Hamburger SV ) had only won the title in Ljubljana at the beginning of June with a 1-0 win against Portugal.
While the Chemnitz-born Jordan Torunarigha from Hertha BSC is also part of the squad, the Dresden-born Lars Lukas Mai – brother of the Dynamo captain Sebastian Mai – is missing. The Bayern Munich defender, whom the record champions loaned to Darmstadt 98 last season and Werder Bremen for the coming season, had become U21 European champions with Kuntz at the beginning of June. This title was also won by goalkeeper Markus Schubert, who played for Dynamo until 2019 and is now playing for second division Schalke 04. He also missed the Olympics.
On the other hand, Benjamin Henrichs, who is already active for the A-selection and is active as a right defender in the Bundesliga for RB Leipzig, is there.
Lars Lukas Mai in January 2020 at the FC Bayern Munich training camp. © Archive: dpa / Peter Kneffel
The DFB team will meet on July 12th, and one day later they will head to Japan. After a test against Honduras on July 17th, the game against Brazil will be serious on July 22nd in Yokohama. The other opponents in the preliminary round are Saudi Arabia and Ivory Coast.
The German Olympic squad:
- Tor: Svend Brodersen (Yokohama FC), Florian Müller (VfB Stuttgart), Luca Plogmann (Werder Bremen)
- Defense: Benjamin Henrichs (RB Leipzig), Amos Pieper (Arminia Bielefeld), David Raum (TSG Hoffenheim), Jordan Torunarigha (Hertha BSC), Felix Uduokhai (FC Augsburg), Josha Vagnoman (Hamburger SV)
- Midfield / Forward: Nadiem Amiri (Bayer Leverkusen), Maximilian Arnold (VfL Wolfsburg), Niklas Dorsch (KAA Gent), Ismail Jakobs (1. FC Cologne), Max Kruse (Union Berlin), Eduard Löwen (VfL Bochum), Arne Maier (Hertha BSC) , Marco Richter (FC Augsburg), Anton Stach (SpVgg Greuther Fürth), Cedric Teuchert (Union Berlin)
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