Germany will face Spain in the preliminary duel at the World Cup. This is the plan with the recently injured Leroy Sané.
Good news for the German national team: Leroy Sané is in national coach Hansi Flick’s squad for the World Cup “final” against Spain. According to SID information, the Bayern Munich professional could at least be used as a substitute.
Sané had missed Germany’s opening match at the World Cup in Qatar against Japan (1:2) due to knee problems. On Saturday evening, he took part in the final training for the match with Spain. “We’ll have to wait and see with Leroy. It’s good that he can train,” Flick said during the matchday media session on Saturday.
In the match at the Al-Bayt Stadium (20.00 CET/ZDF and MagentaTV), the DFB team is threatened with a second successive exit from the preliminary round of a World Cup. It would be sealed in the event of another defeat, provided Japan scores against Costa Rica beforehand (11.00 hrs).
While Sané is not yet expected to start on the pitch, there could still be changes to the starting line-up. Flick: “There are several positions where I still see one or the other option.” He was not thinking of Joshua Kimmich’s positioning, however. There is constant speculation about a transfer of the Bayern professional from midfield to the right-back position.
When a reporter approached Flick about this option and spoke of a possible decision “in the sense of the team”, Flick replied with a counter-question: “Why in the sense of the team?” The 57-year-old had basically ruled out such a castling before the tournament.
“For me, Joshua is one of the best six-pointers there is. One who can lead the team and give the game stability. He has a super last pass. Let’s see where he plays,” Flick now said in an ARD interview. The national coach does not want to reveal anything to the Spaniards in advance. That is why he did not rule out possibly fielding the central midfielders Kimmich, Ilkay Gündogan and Leon Goretzka together.
“That can also be, absolutely. We can all do planning games. All three are excellent players. They can also play all three in midfield, without question,” Flick said. He sees his central task as preparing the team in the best possible way.
In defence, Thilo Kehrer is expected to start at right-back after Niklas Süle’s unsuccessful performance in the 1-2 defeat to Japan. Süle could move into central defence for the out-of-form Nico Schlotterbeck, alongside head of defence Antonio Rüdiger.
In the offensive, Jonas Hofmann and Niclas Füllkrug are the first alternatives. Meanwhile, Kai Havertz and Serge Gnabry, who were rather disappointing in the opener, will have to fear for their places.
After the Japan match, the deficiencies such as the chance conversion and also the defensive failure were intensively discussed. “We addressed things clearly. I have a lot of talks. In the end, it’s about getting the team in the mood for a tough opponent, that everyone knows what they have to do when we play Spain.”
The German team is practically doomed to win to catapult itself back into the tournament. The aim is to stay in Qatar beyond the group stage, he said. “We will do everything to achieve that,” the national coach promised: “I am rock-solid convinced that we will play a good game and win the game in the end.” (with RS)