The current international period, before the national players go on holiday again, is drawing to a close. While Naby Keïta has already played his two games with Guinea, Niclas Füllkrug, Ilia Gruev, Jiri Pavlenka and Romano Schmid will be in action once more on Tuesday evening (20/6).
After Füllkrug scored in a fifth international game in a row in the 3-3 draw against Ukraine in Bremen, his streak was broken in the 1-0 defeat against Poland. The 30-year-old stood up for his national coach Hansi Flick after he was met with criticism. “Hansi has a very clear idea, which you have to trust as a player and as fans,” said Füllkrug in an interview with Bild on Sunday. “I see him as someone who always tries to take things on, always wants to find new methods and he works very meticulously on that.” In the friendly match against Colombia (20:45 CEST) in Gelsenkirchen, ‘Fülle’ and the Germany side will want to answer that criticism.
Bulgaria earned their first point in the European Championship qualification with a 1-1 draw against Lithuania at the weekend. Mladen Kristajic’s team, however, did not convert their dominance into a win. Ilia Gruev and the national side are now the clear underdogs in the home game against Serbia (20:45 CEST). “We expect a very good Serbia team and want to put in a good performance,” said Gruev. “We are definitely well prepared.”
Romano Schmid did not make an appearance in the 1-1 draw against Belgium, but the Austrians managed to get a result against the favourites, who are coached by Domenico Tedesco. In the home match against Sweden (20:45 CEST) at the Ernst Happel Stadion, Ralf Rangnick’s team want to go one better and Schmid will be hoping to make his fifth international appearance. Jiri Pavlenka and the Czech Republic will face Montenegro in a friendly (18:00 CEST) and currently sit top of their qualifying group.
