Julian Nagelsmann announced the entire European Championship squad in Berlin, and there are no big surprises. The DFB had already spread 18 names through TV shows and social media, but only nine were added when the official announcement was made. The provisional squad includes 27 players. The national coach will have to sort out at least one before the European Championships. What is striking is that the European Championship squad corresponds almost exactly to the squad that Nagelsmann had already nominated for the victorious test matches against France and the Netherlands in the spring. The Stuttgart professionals Chris Führich, Waldemar Anton and Deniz Undav, who were surfing a wave through the season, are back, now supplemented by the appointment of VfB keeper Alexander Nübel as the fourth goalkeeper. Nico Schlotterbeck also made a comeback under Nagelsmann.
As expected, Mats Hummels and Leon Goretzka, the hardship candidates, have to watch the home tournament on TV, although they had some hope given their current form. Nagelsmann said at the PK that the conversations with those who had been sorted out were not easy.
One can already say that Nagelsmann has remained true to his radical line of not nominating the best players, but the best eleven – and that’s a good thing. The two victories in March have already proven that the path we have chosen promises success. The approach of positioning players not only based on performance but also based on roles to be fulfilled has definitely given the national team a boost. The squad appears balanced and justifies the decisions against Hummels and Goretzka. It is a plea for the system as such, for the internal mood, and a rejection of egos and sensitivities. One cannot accuse Nagelsmann of being loyal to the Nibelung, as once practiced by the eternal Jogi Löw.
An example: Thomas Müller is part of the squad because he works better as a supplementary player than others and is, to quote Nagelsmann, a real “connector”. The Bayern professional (“Radio-Müller”) is good for communication on and off the pitch and he benefits the team beyond his sporting qualities. Which, conversely, must also mean that the national coach obviously didn’t know how to identify these holistic advantages.
These are good prospects for the European Championship, which starts on June 14th with the opening game in Munich against Scotland. Nagelsmann understandably didn’t want to make a specific prediction, but he made it clear: he wants to play for the title with this team. If you fail beforehand, perhaps even very early, the assessment would depend on whether the tournament was a success.
With his optimistic outlook, the 36-year-old Nagelsmann referred to his fine instinct before games, which, as he said, rarely disappointed him. As a rule, he can already feel on the bus on the way to the stadium how well his team will play. He would feel the same way now with a view to the European Championships in his own country: he simply has a good gut feeling. You want to believe him.
