Julian Nagelsmann will also draw his insights from Borussia Dortmund’s big gala in the quarter-finals of the Champions League against Atlético Madrid. Most recently, the national coach had sorted out almost all BVB players – it shouldn’t stay that way.
Julian Brandt was asked what he would do next summer shortly after the 4-2 triumph on Tuesday evening (April 16, 2024). The BVB international naturally knew that the question was aimed at his possible participation in the European Championship in Germany, which had recently become a long way off.
Brandt was not in the squad for the important friendly victories against France and the Netherlands, just like his Dortmund club colleagues Mats Hummels, Emre Can, Nico Schlotterbeck, Niklas Süle and Karim Adeyemi. Only Niclas Füllkrug was allowed to travel, but even he was on the brink after nine competitive games without a goal and the threat of losing his regular place to Sébastien Haller.
Dortmund’s Füllkrug can overcome resistance
The night against Atlético may have changed a lot. The conviction with which Füllkrug heaved Marcel Sabitzer’s cross into the corner in the 71st minute was a strong sign: the striker can fight against resistance, he doesn’t lose faith in himself and his abilities, Nagelsmann will be relying on him at the European Championships under no circumstances can we do without it.
The same applies to Brandt. The midfielder is currently not only using his well-known strengths, but is even discovering new ones: against Atlético, together with the equally outstanding Marcel Sabitzer, he not only carried the team along offensively, scored with enormous willpower to make it 1-0, but also made many paths backwards and regained lost balls.
Dortmund’s Niclas Füllkrug
Hummels would have deserved it too
Of the “two or three places” that Nagelsmann recently declared vacant in his European Championship squad, one must now actually be reserved for Brandt. If it were purely based on performance, Mats Hummels would also have earned the appointment. The fact that Dortmund is in the top four in Europe is largely due to its consistency and class this season; the central defender once again demonstrated his outstanding form in Dortmund’s victory in Munich.
The fact that he scored an own goal against Atlético should be bearable, especially since Hummels demonstrated a skill with his long outside-foot pass into the depths before Brandt’s goal that no central defender has mastered in this form at the top European level. However, Nagelsmann has recently made it quite clear that he has chosen Antonio Rüdiger and Jonathan Tah for his regular line-up and that Hummels – for whatever reason – is “not an ideal fit” as a back-up.
Things are getting tight for Can and Schlotterbeck
Edin Terzic would have a few more possible backups for Nagelsmann, and all of them have been regular players in the national team. However, the emphasis will probably continue to be on “were”, especially for Süle, who cannot get his fitness problems under control and is also far behind in Dortmund.
Terzic continues to rely on Schlotterbeck and Can, but they acted too inconsistently against Atlético to really be recommended for the European Championship in the long term: Both have an outstanding fighting heart, but above all the gaps between them and their opponents were always too big The Madrilenians used both goals to make it 1:2 and 2:2.
Adeyemi has already been a tournament joker
Karim Adeyemi was, is and remains a surprise package. The winger has recently fought back his place in the BVB team and has shown several times that he can be a player for special moments with his lightning speed. As counterproductive as his performance was last Saturday with two unnecessary fouls and a yellow-red card in the 2-1 win in Gladbach, he is always able to tear open a solid and deep defense.
This quality can certainly be in demand at the Euro, for example in the group games against Scotland and Hungary. Therefore, it cannot be completely ruled out that Nagelsmann will pull Adeyemi out of the hat, just as Hansi Flick did before the World Cup defeat in Qatar. Adeyemi and the other BVB candidates can now deliver their arguments at the highest level: the semi-finals of the Champions League will be against Paris St. Germain on April 30th and May 7th.