Can Germany's U21 team defend their European Championship title?
Germany under-21 coach Stefan Kuntz has commented on his team's chances of winning the upcoming tournament in Italy and San Marino.
| Germany won the European Championship in 2017. | Photo: Sven Mandel, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 |
First of all, however, Germany under-21 coach Stefan Kuntz is focusing on progressing from Group B which also includes Denmark, Serbia and Austria.
"Our priority is to get through the group stage and qualify for the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo. And then we'll see what else is possible. The competition is very strong; Serbia will play with a lot of senior internationals, for example. We will have to be very tactically flexible and will need good team spirit and the right attitude. The guys are excited that it will finally all start," Kuntz told Rheinische Post.
When asked if the squad this year is as strong as the team that won the tournament in 2017, Kuntz said:
"You can't compare the two teams. In Nadiem Amiri, Levin Öztunali, Waldemar Anton and 'Mo' Dahoud, we have four players from the squad back then who will probably be able to pass their experience on to the rest of the players. We have a very different dynamic in this group, and we have less individualists such as Serge Gnabry," Kuntz said.
Kuntz's troops face Denmark in their first game at the tournament on Monday.