Raum opens up on competition with Mittelstädt

After starting on the bench in the group stage of the European Championship, David Raum forced his way into the starting lineup at the expense of Maximilian Mittelstädt for Germany's 2-0 win over Denmark in the round of 16.

At a press conference on Monday, the Leipzig defender was asked about the tough competition to start at left-back.

“At the end of the day, we’re both great left-backs and have had a great season,” he said. 

"Maxi played really well for the first two games and we’re making it tough for the coach to choose one of us. It’s a perfect situation when the coach can rotate because that means the quality is there. 

“I’ve been pushing Maxi to perform and he’s now doing the same to me. We’ve done our job if we’re making the coach make a difficult decision.”

Raum will hope to start again when Germany take on Spain in the quarter-finals on Friday at 18:00 CET.

With Spain boasting talented and skillful wingers Nico Williams and Lamine Yamal, he knows how difficult the task will be.

“Lamine Yamal and Nico Williams are two fantastic players, but they’re not their only good players,” he said. 

"The whole Spain team is full of so much quality. Those two are fantastic at dribbling with the ball and they will really test us out. We obviously will look at footage of them before the game, but they’re never fully predictable. 

“Nonetheless, we’ll come up with a good plan. We know what we’re capable of and we’re really confident in ourselves.”