Germany coach Joachim Loew believes that his team still need to brush up on certain aspects of their game before their tournament opener which is a week away.
Germany start their campaign against World Champions France on 15th June at the Allianz Arena.
Despite having home advantage during the group stages, the 2014 World Cup winners are not considered as favourites this time around as they will have to overcome France and Portugal, who have been quite formidable over the last few years. Germany will play their last warm up on Monday against Latvia.
“I cannot fully draw conclusions from our camp just yet because our preparation continues and after the game tomorrow, we have a week in Duesseldorf to prepare for France,” Loew, going into his final tournament as Germany coach, told a news conference.
Joachim Loew has been at the helm of affairs for the German national team since 2006 and has had his fair share of ups and downs, which you’d expect from a long tenure. The stand-out moment of his stint is definitely the when Die Mannschaft lifted the World Cup in 2014 by beating Argentina in extra time.
Germany have failed to deliver performances at par with the likes of France, Belgium and Portugal in the last 2 major tournaments, which has led to this being Loew’s final bite at the cherry. Former Bayern Munich manager Hansi Flick will be taking over the reins after the Euros.
“We have certainly taken a step forward but we still have to improve,” Loew said. “We have done the basic work but, on some issues, for the next week we will continue to work to become more stable and stronger.”
“I plan to make some substitutions because the players from the English teams (from the Champions League final between Manchester City and Chelsea) should not be stretched too hard.”
Timo Werner, Kai Havertz, Antonio Rudiger and Ilkay Gundogan joined only days ago.
“We have to fine-tune things but we don’t want to risk injuries with these players. They had a few days of rest and a lot of matches under their belt this season,” Loew said.
