Germany have been going to great lengths to deal with a mosquito invasion at their Bavarian base, but Julian Nagelsmann is confident Denmark won’t clip their wings.
The German boss and several of his players have been quizzed all week on the outbreak at their Adidas-built Home Ground camp, with Nagelsmann even calling it “an abnormal plague” as players and staff were bitten.
Cocoa fumes have now been used to deal with the problem, but that has led to some players in the squad complaining about the smell. Nagelsmann insists that the squad remains laser focused on delivering a victory at their home tournament though, with excitement growing in Germany over the squad’s potential.
“It doesn’t matter if you’re the hosts or not, the expectation of our fans is always the same,” he said. “They always want to see a successful team.
“It’s a big support and really good feeling when we see all the pictures out in the streets, with our fans supporting us and celebrating the games. And we want to help produce more pictures for them. It’s an additional push for our team.”
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The hot topic among those fans has been Nagelsmann’s preference for Arsenal ’s Kai Havertz as his team’s No.9 over Borussia Dortmund’s Niclas Fullkrug.
Nicolas Fullkrug is a popular figure in Germany (AFP via Getty Images)Late bloomer Fullkrug, 31, has a remarkable international record of 13 goals from his 19 caps, with many of those - including his strikes against Scotland and Switzerland at this tournament - coming from the bench.
A fan poll run by German publication Bild showed 90 per cent of 138,000 responders wanted to see the popular Fullkrug start over Havertz, but Nagelsmann gave short shrift to questions over his preference to face Denmark.
“I’ve not followed the discussion,” he insisted. “We decided who will play, no-one else.
“There are always discussions about everyone. I don’t read anything, I have enough things to do. We have enough expertise on our staff so we don’t need to follow the discussions.”
Nagelsmann's side take on Denmark in the last-16 (Getty Images)One player who does seem certain to feature is Real Madrid ’s Antonio Rudiger, with the former Chelsea defender returning to training on Friday after picking up a hamstring issue.
“He’s very important,” said Nagelsmann. “Our medical staff have been trying everything this week to get him fit again, and in training he looked good.
“We’ll see what happens overnight in terms of muscle issues. We have to wait and see what will happen, but at the moment he looks like being fit again so we’re happy to have him back.
“If nothing special happens (overnight) he could play.”
Nagelsmann also feels that Germany’s tests becoming harder throughout the tournament is a good thing. His side started their group stage with a 5-1 win over Scotland before beating Hungary and drawing with Switzerland.
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“We started with an easier game than we expected, then a more complicated game against Hungary, who were brilliant, then a third game against the Swiss, which was difficult, but we got a late equaliser,” he said.
“So in the end we had to deal with different things in the group stage so I think we are well prepared for the knockout stage.”
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