Marbella (AP) – After winning the title with Manchester City in the English Premier League, Ilkay Gündogan will be late in the national soccer team’s training camp in Spain.
National coach Hansi Flick had already announced when announcing his 26-strong squad for the upcoming Nations League games against European champions Italy, European Championship finalists England and Hungary that the 31-year-old Gündogan would only play as English champions one day later because of the celebrations Marbella had to come.
“If Man City wins the championship and they celebrate on Monday, Ilkay won’t come until Tuesday,” said Flick. The rest of the squad around Captain Manuel Neuer will arrive on Monday.
Gündogan scored two goals as a substitute in Manchester City’s long-distance duel with Liverpool FC on Sunday after being 2-0 down in the decisive 3-2 home win against Aston Villa and thus led to winning the English championship.
Flick is going to the training camp on the Costa del Sol, which is scheduled to run until Friday, with clear ideas, and the national players can also bring their partners and children to it. In the morning you should train intensively, in the afternoon you have free time.
Flick has “an eye on the world’s top”
Numerous players, such as the eight players from FC Bayern, have been off for a week and shouldn’t be off for too long before the start in Italy on June 4th. That’s why Flick attached importance to a training camp. “To say freely after two weeks, we’ll meet four days before the Nations League games and then the players should suddenly perform, that wouldn’t be serious, that wouldn’t be professional,” said the national coach, explaining his approach.
After all, at the end of the season it is already the penultimate phase of international matches before the immediate preparation for the World Cup, which begins on November 21 in Qatar. Flick clearly formulates the goal for the upcoming four games in the Nations League against Italy (June 4th and 14th) as well as England (June 7th) and Hungary (June 11th): “We already have our sights set on the top of the world and want everything for it do that we consistently continue along this path.”