Recently, former German international Per Mertesacker was interviewed by EFE while attending an official European Championship sponsor event. He talked about how he remains optimistic about the team’s future despite Germany’s elimination, and believes that Spain is the biggest favorite to win the tournament.
When asked about who he thought would win the European Championship, the 2014 World Cup winner and current England youth team coordinator said: “England is like a second home to me because I’ve been working there and playing there for many years. I know some of the England players and have helped them grow. Although England have faced many difficulties in the tournament, I’m glad they’ve managed to stay in the competition. However, I think Spain have been the best team so far and have beaten us Germans. Therefore, in my opinion, they are the biggest favorites to win the championship.”
Following the loss to Spain, Germany football forever said goodbye to Toni Kroos as a player. Mertesacker believes the loss cannot be blamed solely on bad luck, but also acknowledges that Kroos’ retirement has left a huge void in German football. Mertesacker said: “You always need a bit of luck in a game, those little details often determine the outcome. However, we did not defend well in certain situations, but I think in terms of the performance and the attacking intent shown by the German team, we should have at least gone to a penalty shootout. Filling the void left by Toni Kroos is a huge challenge, he is irreplaceable. We need to try other avenues, because there will be no other Kroos to drive the game consistently, so we need to consider other ways of playing, but I think we are in a good position now.”
Mertesacker also explained why he believes German football is already on a good path, saying: “From 2006 to 2014 we gained a lot of experience, made great progress in major tournaments. The 2006 World Cup defeat was difficult to accept, but ultimately good for us. I have a feeling that a similar rebound could happen after the European Championship hosted at home, from the perspective of the audience and morale. But of course, it depends on whether the team can use this experience to prepare for future matches. The next challenge is already looming, the World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico is just two years away, and there are the Nations League and World Cup qualifiers in between. We have an ideal coach, a young team, although we will lose many experienced players, there is a lot to build on.”
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