Die Deutsche Fußballnationalmannschaft News & Discussion Thread - Road to Russia 2018 Thread (R)

Hector is back in training.
https://www.bundesliga.com/en/news/...products&utm_term=english&utm_content=article

 

so Gomez is back at Stuttgart. do you reckon he will make the roster for the summer?

 

I would say Werner is the only one that's all but sealed in the roster. Gomez needs to perform in the 2nd half and he does have some competition.

but who knows for certain. It does happen where even when a player doesn't perform for club they still make the NT squad. The coach knows Gomez, he's the one that gave him his debut all those years ago and he knows what he offers to the team. Gomez was also one of the performers at the last major tournament of EC16 until he got injured during the Italy game and missed the France one.

 

Agreed. I think Loew will give Gomez every chance to make the WC considering how he missed the last WC due to injury and because this would be his last major NT tournament.

 

Mario Gomez: "I am very happy to be back home where everything began. Particularly over the past few days and in the heated phase, I have felt the desire to return home to Stuttgart ever more. I want to go back to the club where I experienced probably the craziest part of my career, with the unexpected German championship win in 2007. It’s also the club that made me the player I am today. At the international game against Norway in September, I said how special it was to play in this stadium. I know the expectations are massive and that the situation is very demanding. Now it’s all about survival in the top-flight, having a good second half to the season and additionally for me, it’s also about achieving my goal of playing at the World Cup. I am looking forward to the club, the city, the people, the surroundings and my family. I can hardly wait to get going."

 

Looking up another WC hopeful's progress.

Marco Reus to make his comeback in January???
http://www.bild.de/sport/fussball/borussia-dortmund/reus-im-januar-zurueck-54222664.bild.html
https://bvbbuzz.com/2017/12/19/marco-reus-borussia-dortmund-return/

 

Let's hope Hector doesn't get himself in anymore trouble until the world cup

I'm pretty confident that the final squad is gonna be better than Brazil 2014 when it comes to depth and talent, but question is whether the starting players will be as lethal and good as in 2014 with Müller, mid trio Khedira, Schweinsteiger and Kroos, CB's Boateng (when he played CB) and Hummels, Lahm and not to forget: Neuer. I'm pretty confident that it's possible to win the World Cup with Ter Stegen, but I'll rather see Neuer in goal than Marc

 

i’m confident that Germany will reach the semi finals
from there on it will be some tough matches

 

we played 3 tough matches in a row in 2014 from France-Brazil-Argentina and we won all 3 without any shootout too.

 

Keep in mind that both Khedira and Bastian were not fully fit.... while the midfield looked strong on paper, they were not close to being fit but should a lot of battle

 

awww.

Marco Reus on the World Cup: "I would give all my money to be healthy, go to the World Cup and do what I love: play football" 🇩🇪 pic.twitter.com/nUBEJX8XpH

— Bayern & Germany (@iMiaSanMia) January 2, 2018

I hope he makes the WC, could be his last one.


here's about Reus going to the Camp and that Gotze is fit again.
https://www.bundesliga.com/en/news/...products&utm_term=english&utm_content=article

 

Where would you guys put Özil though? Bench or in the starting eleven?

 

well for one Ozil is an AM rather than a LW even though he usually plays in that role for the NT.

so put Reus in LW and Ozil as an AM and you could still play both in the starting XI. Although doing this restricts your midfield to a 2 men one.

 

My only concern about this team is two positions:

RB (who is Kimmich's backup?) and CM (we lack certain qualities in the midfield)

I guess with Timo Werner, Mario Gomez at CF, we are ok in that department. Apparently Stindl, Wagner, Volland and Mark uth can be other options too.

Kroos' partner, no matter if its Gundogan, Khedira, Goretzka, Rudy or Emre Can.......i looks like there is some issue with each player. We dont have anyone who is fit (Gundogan and Khedira arent too fit) and provide certain qualities that compliment with Kroos

We dont need another deeplying playmaker, we need someone who can provide the work-rate, coverage and certain degree of toughness and physicality in midfield. Perhaps Goretzka but he is more offensive.

For now i think Loew has these problems in his head:

1) Will Manuel Neuer get back in time? If he does, will he be fit enough to upset ter Stegen who is playing AMAZINGLY for BARCA in 2017?

2) who can be Kimmich's backup?

3) Who is the best out of Halstenberg, Philipp Max or Plattenhardt ?

4) Who is Kroos' ideal partner in midfield? We need something different to another deep-lying playmaker

5) Goetze or Stindl ?

6) Who is Mueller's backup at RW?

7) Do we have to bring in both Mario Gomez AND Sandro Wagner?

 

1) i'd choose ter Stegen over Neuer for now. I wont start Neuer unless hes 100% fit and play consistently well from March to May. And he has to play REALLY well

2) id say Rudy as a backup plan. But if Loew doesnt even consider Rudy a candidate in WC2018, then we might have to play Ginter or Rudiger there

3) Philipp Max. All three of them are inexperienced anyway, so pick the one with best form

4) I'd use Emre Can next to Kroos

5) neither, but of course Loew will choose either of both. But for me, i would consider Mark uth as 3rd striker. We dont need a backup AM other than Oezil

6) We might have to play Draxler on the right if Muller is injured or something. Maybe Reus too, but i see Leroy Sane as an option on the left only

7) I'd bring in Mario Gomez as Timo Werner's backup...........but of course we have no idea how Wagner will perform in Bayern Munich yet,.

 

If fit, then Khedira or Gundogan should partner Kroos. It's still 6 months to the world cup - i know they aren't 100% now but it's still a chance that they will/can be. I'm not very fond of Kroos as the deep lying playmaker anyway considering his defensive skills who's poor.... but Hummels and Boateng will cover up for it if they are fit.

Rudy as a backup for Kimmich as I see it like Karl said. I don't ever wanna see Ginter play RB, neither do I want Höwedes to do it.

Bringing both Gomez and Wagner would be a waste
I mean, Wagner is for me a poorer version of Gomez but let's see how he performs in Bayern..

 

1. If Neuer is fit he will start unless he is playing like complete dog shit.

2. I would go with Rudy but I wouldn't mind a young RB like Toljan or Klostermann

3. Never watched Maxx play but I was not impressed with Plattenhardt or Halstenburg when they got called up.

4. I would say Khedira or Can but it would be cool if Gundogan can get in there.

5. Stindl

6. I would say Sane.

7. We should only take 1 and I would go with Gomez

 

@Epitome990 should be happy about this.
http://www.kicker.de/news/fussball/...s-co-trainer-beobachten-max.html#omsmtwkicker

I think he might get called up in the March friendlies. Have to say the fact that Low keeps looking for someone other than Hector doesn't bode well for either Halstenberg or Plattenhardt.

 

Halstenberg actually played very very well against England in his debut

Solid in both ends

 

sure he was solid but still beg the question if Plattenhardt was good enough why did Low go after Halstenberg and if Halstenberg is good enough why is he seemingly interested in Max?

sounds to me like Low is not certain for LB and is checking out players. Hector goes injured next thing you know 3 LB are being looked at. And there is no way all 4 are going to the WC. Tops 2 out of the 4.

 

more on Marco Reus's progress and WC hopes.
https://www.bundesliga.com/en/news/...products&utm_term=english&utm_content=article

… whether he'll make his comeback in February
"We'll see. I haven't set myself a date by which I want to be back. It's hard to say, given the kind of injury it was, because there are still several steps I still need to take. But I'm positive and I think that in the next few weeks things will progress. Then we'll just have to wait and see."

… the 2018 World Cup and staying in touch with Germany coach Joachim Löw
"I'm in contact with Joachim Löw, and that's very important to me. But for now my first priority is to get back into full training with the team. After that the aim is to starting playing again and then to find my rhythm. After being out for such a long time with an injury like this it's not easy to come back and play well, but anyone who knows me knows that I have the potential to do that and I've got the right mentality too. I'm optimistic. If everything goes to plan and I get time out on the pitch in the coming weeks and if I'm fit then obviously I want to play for Germany too."

 

I know it was only for fifteen minutes yesterday and his first game but Wagner looked like a less talented version of a number 9 in "Eliteserien".

 

lol, I really don't want him on the NT. I find we have plenty of better players in the striker position to waste a spot on him.

 

a piece on Philipp Max!
https://www.bundesliga.com/en/news/Bundesliga/philipp-max-alongside-neymar-pogba-de-bruyne-in-european-assists-table-468396.jsp?smartformat=true&utm_source=smartformat&utm_medium=products&utm_term=english&utm_content=article

"The son of two-time Bundesliga top goalscorer Martin Max, Augsburg's current assist specialist is raising plenty of debate as to whether he should be included in Joachim Löw's Germany squad for the upcoming FIFA World Cup.

"He has taken a giant step here in the past year," Augsburg coach Manuel Baum commented. "I think you could take a look at Philipp [in terms of national team selection] and see how he fits into the overall idea of the Germany team, whose game is largely based on controlled possession."

German Football Association (DFB) assistant coaches Thomas Schneider and Oliver Sorg have been spotted at several Augsburg games this season, doing just that. Should Max continue to draw favourable comparisons with some of the biggest names in world football, taking him to this summer's finals in Russia may be a prospect too tempting to overlook."



awhile ago I mentioned that usually sons of former pros don't amount to much in the youth thread. Looks like Max is one of the rare exceptions.