Emmanuel LANGELLIER, Media365, published on Friday June 28, 2024 at 3:36 p.m.
Likely starter due to the suspension of Jonathan Tah, Nico Schlotterbeck is very wary of Denmark, which Germany faces on Saturday in the round of 16 of Euro 2024.
With the first round completed, the first 8th finals of Euro 2024 begin on Saturday. After two days without a match to sink their teeth into (Thursday and Friday), allowing the players still in the running to rest their muscles, football fans will be treated to a clash between Switzerland and Italy (6:00 p.m.) then the match between Germany and Denmark (9:00 p.m.). As the host country of the event, Germany is aiming for the title at home and was among the main favourites at the start of the tournament, but after two initial wins against Scotland (5-1) and Hungary (2-0), the Mannschaft disappointed against Switzerland (1-1), showing flaws that were not suspected. And although it did not win any of its matches, Denmark showed itself to be solid and sometimes inspired. Held by Slovenia, it made England tremble (1-1) before stalling against Serbia (0-0).
Schlotterbeck on Denmark: “They always have very high quality in attack”
So, before challenging Denmark, Germany is on its guard. It will have to be particularly wary of the formidable attacking duo Jonas Wind-Rasmus Hojlund. Nico Schlotterbeck, who should replace Jonathan Tah (suspended) in central defense, is perfectly aware of this. “We know Jonas Wind from having seen him in the Bundesliga (the Dane plays for Wolfsburg). We know what to expect. He is a very agile attacker who goes very far in winning the ball. I have not yet played much against Rasmus Hojlund. All I know is that he is incredibly fast and knows how to use his body very well. And I don’t think it is necessary to say anything about Christian Eriksen. He moves around the team a lot. I think he can do what he wants at the first touch of the ball,” detailed the Borussia Dortmund defender, present at a press conference on Thursday.
“They still have very high quality in attack, including their replacements. We also know Yussuf Poulsen, who plays in the Bundesliga. Like I said, I think if we have the ball a lot, not much can happen. This is why we are going to try to have the ball a lot, to implement our game plan, because then we will have a very good chance of beating Denmark,” added Nico Schlotterbeck (24) who should celebrate his 14th selection at… Dortmund, Saturday evening alongside Antonio Rüdiger, still uncertain nonetheless. If the Real Madrid captain were to give up, Waldemar Anton would be favored by Julian Nagelsmann.
