On Monday evening, the DFB team landed in Boston to start the American tour with games against the USA (October 14th) and Mexico (October 18th).
There was a lot of criticism about the trip, which new national coach Julian Nagelsmann (36) understands: “From a club coach’s point of view, it’s normal to be critical of it, we don’t need to lie about it. But we all have a responsibility for German football. We should all deal with it positively and make the best of it.”
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BILD explains how the idea of the USA came about.
Ex-national team director Oliver Bierhoff (55) and the DFB management planned the trip. The thoughts behind it: On the one hand, they wanted attractive opponents who were difficult to find in Europe for the European Championship hosts Germany due to the qualifying commitments of the other nations.
But other ideas also played a role: With a view to the 2026 World Cup, they wanted to establish contacts with the World Cup host countries and present German football on the American continent. They also wanted to work on the US market together with the league.
The upcoming World Cup will take place in the USA, Mexico and Canada in 2026. Eleven of the 16 venues are in the United States, including Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, where Germany will play against Mexico on October 18th.
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Bierhoff also saw the trip as an opportunity to bring the team closer together before the home tournament and to achieve a team-building effect. Nagelsmann also sees this point: “In terms of atmosphere, a training camp abroad is always good because ideally you hang out a lot and have time to talk to each other and have time to get to know each other.”
DFB sports director Rudi Völler explains the background to the trip to the USA during the official Fifa standoff period in October: “When I started at the DFB, this trip was almost clear. My first reflex was – I’ll be honest: why are we doing them? Now I also say: She’s good. After the two home games against France and Japan in September, with a view to the upcoming World Cup, it is important to present yourself to the fans on site, have conversations and make contacts. Even though we are all looking forward to our home European Championships next year, which is the focus of all our planning, professional preparation includes tackling the subsequent tournament early in order to create optimal conditions there too. Because we have to think outside the box, the world won’t stop turning after the European Championships in Germany. For greater awareness and presence of German football, the Bundesliga and its clubs, it is important that Germany’s best players also show themselves internationally.”
In addition to the USA tour, the home audience is clearly the focus on the way to the home European Championship in 2024; in 2023, seven of the eleven international matches will be home games in different regions of Germany.
There was also a lot of discussion about the timing – but there was no other option for the team to travel to the World Cup host country after the home European Championship and before the World Cup in 2026. In the second half of 2024, following the European Championship, the national team is again bound to the competitive games in the UEFA Nations League, followed by the World Cup qualifying games.
But why is the second game against Mexico taking place at 2 a.m. German time? Leon Goretzka (28) had already criticized this: “Personally, I find it extremely unfortunate that the second game is at 2 a.m. German time. I can’t really understand that.”
Background: Since Mexico basically has home advantage on their anniversary tour of the USA, they were able to decide the kick-off time and insisted on a time that was better for them. When the game kicks off, it will be 6 p.m. in Mexico City. The DFB is said to have received a little more money for this. The TV stations had no say at all and had to accept the time that was given – in this case bad luck for ARD. The poor performance of the German national team in recent tournaments has not made the negotiating position any easier for the DFB.
2023-10-10 20:44:49
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