Hansi Flick starts his preparation for the home European Championship 2024 with a major personnel change. With five newcomers and four returnees, but only 15 participants of the group knockout. After the disappointing World Cup in Qatar, the national coach begins the international year with the German national team.
Josha Vagnoman, Marius Wolf, Mergim Berisha, Felix Nmecha and Kevin Schade are the sometimes surprising debutants in the squad for the test matches of the DFB selection on 25 March in Mainz against Peru and three days later in Cologne against Belgium. "It is important for us to present a good squad with a view to the home European Championship, and for that we need alternatives. We have to look for alternatives and give them time to promote," Flick explained his selection. After some long breaks, Emre Can, Bernd Leno and Florian Wirtz are back. Leipzig striker Timo Werner, who missed the World Cup injured at short notice, is also back in the DFB squad.
The list of names that Flick does without for the time being is prominently occupied. Thomas Müller, Ilkay Gündogan and of course captain Manuel Neuer, who is working on a comeback after breaking his leg, were already confirmed as temporary strike candidates. Leroy Sané, Niklas Süle, Antonio Rüdiger and Lukas Klostermann will also not be there at the start.
"We want to broaden the squad"
The decisions are not to be understood as permanent disembarkation, as Flick made clear. "All those we have omitted have an enormous quality, which is good for us. We want to set up the squad broadly, we want to start in March," the national coach explained his personnel decisions. He spoke to each of the players. "Of course, one or the other would have liked to have been there," said Flick.
The Dortmund trio Julian Brandt, Karim Adeyemi and Youssoufa Moukoko also have to pass injured. BVB colleague Marco Reus, who was not taken to the World Cup by Flick, is also missing. Flick wants to continue his test strategy until the other three international matches in June. After that, a hard core for the home European Championship in the summer of 2024 should have crystallized. "We want to put together a team that is strong, that has a chance," Flick said of the tournament perspective.
As a first reaction to the criticism of the national football team, Flick opens the stadium gates for fans at the first practice session of the year. On Monday from 16 p.m., the DFB stars will start their preparations for the first international matches of the year at the Stadion am Brentanobad in Frankfurt – in front of an audience. Supporters of the national team can secure free tickets for the training session on Monday on the association's homepage, the DFB announced on Friday.
The national players around Jamal Musiala, Wirtz and Joshua Kimmich will mainly complete regeneration exercises, as several players are still in action with their clubs on Sunday. Selfies with the players and autographs that the football professionals will write are firmly promised. After the early World Cup failure, massive criticism of the national team had become loud for too great a distance to their fans. National coach Flick and the new sporting director Rudi Völler had then announced to allow more closeness again.
Kimmich will lead the national team as captain into the international year. In the absence of captain Neuer, who is working on a comeback after breaking his leg, as well as the currently unconsidered veterans Müller and Gündogan, the 28-year-old from FC Bayern Munich is the logical captain for national coach Flick for the DFB selection. "He has the most caps. He will lead the team as captain on the field," said the national coach. At the start of the year, Kimmich can play his 75th international match.
The national coach no longer wants to have any discussions about the colour or symbolism of the captain's armband. "For me, that's not an issue at all," Flick noted. "Everything has been said". At the World Cup, the debate about the one-love captain's armband, which was ultimately banned by FIFA, had led to fierce debates and overshadowed the preparation of the DFB team for the opening match against Japan (1:2) – much to Flick's misfortune. Most recently, the new sporting director Rudi Völler had emphasized that he wanted the DFB captain to wear a bandage in the national colors black, red and gold.