Julian Nagelsmann confirms that Pascal Groß and Niclas Füllkrug will start for Germany against Hungary

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·7 September 2024

Julian Nagelsmann confirms that Pascal Groß and Niclas Füllkrug will start for Germany against Hungary

In his pre-match press conference ahead of Germany’s Nations League game against Hungary (via @iMiaSanMia), head coach Julian Nagelsmann has confirmed that Pascal Groß and Niclas Füllkrug will both start.

On the changes, Nagelsmann said:

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“Pascal will play. He will not be Kroos, but Pascal. I don’t need anyone to replace Toni Kroos. Niclas Füllkrug will play for Ilkay Gündogan in a different formation. He won’t do things like Ilkay either. Everyone can do what they are good at.”

It is clear that Germany will stick to a very similar formation to what they played at EURO 2024 with the only changes being for the retired Ilkay Gündogan, Toni Kroos and Manuel Neuer as well as a replacement for the absent Antonio Rüdiger.

Nagelsmann then describes what now Borussia Dortmund midfielder Groß offers the team:

“He’s extremely good on the ball and has an eye for through balls behind the backline. Pascal isn’t afraid of getting the ball. You have to want the ball to create something. At Brighton, he had a coach who had very good ideas. Talking to Pascal is fun. He’s crazy about football and can assess himself very well. He’s a great guy.”

In the summer, Groß and Füllkrug had to make do with coming off of the bench as Germany reached the quarter-finals of EURO 2024. The latter became a reliable attacking option for Germany as he scored against Scotland and against Switzerland late on to make sure Germany qualified at the top of the group.

Germany kick off the international break against Hungary this evening in Düsseldorf before travelling to Amsterdam on Tuesday to face the Netherlands.

GGFN | Jack Meenan