Bucharest (dpa) – Manuel Neuer’s 35th birthday should not be the only reason to celebrate on the short trip of the national soccer team to Bucharest.
On Sunday evening (8.45 p.m. / RTL) in the top group game against Romania, the captain definitely wants the second win hook in the nine-point start in the qualification for the 2022 World Cup, which was demanded by national coach Joachim Löw, after the 3-0 opener against Iceland do in Qatar.
On the special day of team senior Neuer there was “a serenade” before departure from Düsseldorf, as Löw later told us in Bucharest. The national coach mainly took some personnel worries with him on the trip. The seat of defense giant Niklas Süle in the charter plane remained empty. The strain in the Bayern professional’s left thigh prohibits use.
“There is a risk of major muscle injury,” said Löw. As with Toni Kroos, who had previously left ailing, the 61-year-old pulled the emergency brake again: No risk for the EM tournament in summer! Süle, who was already paused against Iceland, is out and will also miss the third game against North Macedonia next Wednesday in Duisburg.
As for the “unsatisfactory situation”, there were question marks behind Süle’s ailing Munich club colleagues Leon Goretzka (calf) and Leroy Sané (thigh). The well-rehearsed Bayern block could be decimated considerably. With attacker Sané, Löw was more optimistic than Goretzka, for whom he named Gladbacher Florian Neuhaus and Bayern youngster Jamal Musiala as possible options.
In the Arena Națională, where Germany would contest its round of 16 as group winners at the European Championship finals, Löw wants to see a further increase in performance compared to the Iceland game. “It’s going to be a completely different game,” he said. Romania is offensively strong, at the beginning of the World Cup elimination they managed a 3-2 win against North Macedonia. “We are facing a completely different challenge defensively,” warned Löw. After the Süle failure, Löw will again fill the defensive row with Lukas Klostermann, Matthias Ginter, Antonio Rüdiger and Emre Can, as he revealed before the final training.
“If we keep an eye on the Romanians and the opponents towards the EURO, we have to improve further,” said the national coach. “We still have room for improvement,” added midfielder Joshua Kimmich.
18 outfield players and four goalkeepers around birthday boy Neuer are still in his squad, which initially consisted of 26 players, after Süle’s failure. A message on Saturday not only provided relief for Löw before leaving for Bucharest: All players had been tested negative for Corona three times before the start of the short trip – the return flight takes place at night directly after the game. After Jonas Hofmann’s positive test, the DFB bubble seems tight again.
Löw mentioned some “opportunities for improvement”. He complained about a few sloppinesses that crept in after the brisk 2-0 lead over Iceland. “We played too many passes backwards, missed some moments, triggered dynamics, picked up speed,” said Löw. A failure by Goretzka would blow the new showpiece in midfield, where Goretzka, together with Kimmich and Ilkay Gündogan, had harmonized perfectly against Iceland. Gündogan outlined what is important in terms of tactics and composition. “You have to try to adapt the strengths of the individual player to the team and approach the game accordingly,” said the 30-year-old.
Since there are likely to be more spaces away against the aggressively oriented Romanians than against the low-lying Icelanders, there are some indications that Löw could offer the fast Timo Werner on the offensive this time.
As a goalkeeper, Neuer wants another zero match as a subsequent gift. “It was a good performance against Iceland, we can build on it,” said the captain, who, even at 35 years of age, is not thinking of abdicating as Germany’s number 1 in the summer. The outgoing Löw attested his long-time number in Bucharest “an incredible career so far”. He believes that Neuer will “play at this level for a few more years. He looks extremely well trained. He is highly motivated and hungry for titles, ”said Löw.
This is confirmed by the 97-time national player and world champion in 2014. “The three international matches are now also important for the European Championship, so that we are in the lead. We have finals there right from the start, ”said Neuer, referring to the starting opponents France (world champions) and Portugal (European champions). The European title is still missing from Neuer in the title collection.
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