Die Mannschaft will get EURO2024 underway on Friday in Munich, as hundreds of thousands of football fans descend on the Bavarian capital to watch another major tournament on German soil.
Germany, guided by Julian Nagelsmann, are one of the favourites to win the tournament – and three points in their opening game at 20:00 BST [21:00 CEST] will be crucial if they’re to top Group A and earn the favourable draw in the round-of-16.
What did Julian Nagelsmann say?
“[Tomorrow will be] a normal day,” insisted Julian Nagelsmann.
“We’ll have an activation day in the morning, then lunch and another activation session in the afternoon. We’ll have a meeting, then another meeting about set-piece situations, then another meeting and then we’ll take the bus to the stadium.”
Much like Scotland’s Steve Clarke, Nagelsmann sees no need to overhype the occasion. The preference is to let the match speak for itself, but the 36-year-old recognised that Germany “will have more pressure tomorrow than Scotland” due to playing on home soil.
“I am a little bit nervous – but it’s not dramatic.”
“We have to use the home advantage tomorrow. I don’t mind if it’s so loud that I can’t talk to them [the players],” he added, issuing a rallying cry to the majority-German crowd that will flood the Fußball Arena München on Friday.
Scotland are “a team that doesn’t have world stars – but that makes them very dangerous. They all work very hard, that’s the Scottish mentality,” he cites.
Nagelsmann also gave an insight into how he will pick his team – not just on Friday, but throughout the tournament as a whole.
“We want to have pillars in the team,” he explained, “so there will be some playes who play more than others. This doesn’t mean that they’ll play in every match.”
“I don’t want to have artificial pressure on the first eleven… but I want to tell everyone else that good training can be rewarded and in the end we have to show why we’ve chosen these roles. They have to give everything on the pitch, and off it.”
What did İlkay Gündoğan say?
Now aged 33, İlkay Gündoğan will captain die Mannschaft throughout EURO2024. Billed as a quiet character but a passionate leader by Pep Guardiola in May 2023, Gündoğan suggested that representing his country on the European stage is “an honour.”
“To have this tournament in our own country is an opportunity you don’t have too often,” the former Manchester City midfielder acknowledged.
“I am part of this in this country, and I represent the German people with pride. That’s such an honour for me, and I want to show this on the pitch as well – to have everyone feel that.”
There is a relaxed ambience around the German camp, he assured reporters, but highlights the fact that Scotland should not be underestimated.
His seven years under Guardiola in the Premier League allowed him to play against Scottish opponents on a regular basis, including the likes of Liverpool’s Andy Robertson and Manchester United’s Scott McTominay.
“I expect a difficult game. I know a lot of their players from the Premier League… I think they can be tricky, but they’re also good in terms of how they play. We shouldn’t underestimate them.”
But still, despite piling on the praise for the Tartan Army, Gündoğan made it clear that he backs die Mannschaft to open the tournament with three points: “If we can use our potential, I’m confident to say that we can win tomorrow.”