Some of them have applied.
National teams are slowly releasing their bids for the Euro 2024 summer qualifying matches. The teams of Portugal and France were the first to do so. The German national team has also prepared an application, but the team misses the qualifying tournament due to the status of the host country of the continental championship.
Ter Stegen’s chance in Neuer’s absence
There is nothing surprising in the fact that the German national team will play matches in June without its main star. First, Manuel continues to recover from a serious injury. Secondly, even if he returns, friendlies are not the place to put an older player in danger of getting hurt again. Bayern won’t thank you for sure.
Let it be for the freight trains, but Marc-André ter Stegen will finally be back on the field in a Bundesteam shirt. The German had a great season, which only underlines the goalkeeper’s unenviable position in the national team – no matter how good you are, you will still lag behind Neuer.
Here’s how Germany manager Hans-Dieter Flick explains his choice of players:
We want to put our opponents under pressure with a lot of offensive power and at the same time maintain a compact defense with three defenders. We have very good players, all very motivated to do everything for the team and for our fans in the next three games on the road to the European Championship on home soil.
Surprisingly, Timo Werner received a call-up to the national team – although the German perked up at Leipzig, he spends the season so-so in terms of the overall level (weak start at Chelsea – 4 goals in 21 games Premier Leagueafter loan to Leipzig – 9 goals in 27 Bundesliga games).
In June, the Germans will play against Ukraine (12 June), Poland (16 June) and Colombia (20 June).
Ronaldo – the mascot of Portugal
Wherever Cristiano Ronaldo plays, his place in the Portuguese national team for Roberto Martinez is undeniable. The Spaniard has just taken over the team, and arguing with a rebel star player immediately after his appointment is not a good idea. Sure, Saudi Arabia’s overall league level can’t hold a candle to that, but there KriRo has scored 14 goals in 16 games – there’s simply no reason to drop him from the national team. Also, in March, Ron managed to score 2 goals against Liechtenstein and Luxembourg – according to Martinez, it is simply impossible to exclude the striker from the new cycle.
The talented young Goncalo Ramos has already set his sights on a place in the national team – after returning to Benfica with world Cup he never went into promotion but continued to score. At the end of the season, the striker became the champion of Portugal and scored 19 goals in 30 matches. He’s not the top scorer in the league obviously, but he’s finished in the top three.
At the same time, Rafael Leau returns to the national team – together with Ramos, they form the backbone of the next generation in the national team.
The Portuguese have 2 matches scheduled in June: with Bosnia and Herzegovina (June 17), as well as with Iceland (June 20).
France has forgotten about Pogba
There’s nothing to be done: the whole current season is a nightmare for the Juventus midfielder. In the summer he is injured during training and, according to forecasts, he will have to recover until January. And as soon as Paul starts getting involved in matches, he finds himself back in the infirmary. After the matches with Turin and Rome, the Frenchman missed 4 rounds of Serie A. After playing with Sassuolo, he sat on the bench in fights with Napoli and Bologna. The midfielder missed the previous 2 rounds again.
It’s too early to talk about the decline of a national team career – you need to focus on a quality recovery in the offseason. Furthermore, Deschamps trusts established players and with Pogba he has come to victory world Cup-2018. This is how he talks about the midfielder’s failure to call up:
Is Pogba returning to the national team? Paul had a very difficult season due to the off the field situation and constant injuries. He has been an important player for us in the past and he will do everything to remain so in the future.
There are also notable gaps in the center of the field. There are only five midfielders in the bid: Tchuameni and Camavinga from Real Madrid, Fofana from Monaco, Rabiot from Juventus and a dozen Griezmann from Atlético.
The process in the Spanish national team was slowed down by the situation with the coach
Perhaps the “red fury” would be among the teams that first announced their candidacies. But there is no need: in June the team will play in the League of Nations and will return to the selection for the euro in September. At the same time, according to the latest data, there were tense relations with the new coach. Luis de la Fuente took charge of Spain afterwards world Cup-2022 when Luis Enrique left.
The Spanish Football Federation expected that a system specialist (de la Fuente had previously worked with the Spanish youth teams) would bring peace and harmony to the team. However, following the results of the March games against Norway and Scotland, some Red Fury players have expressed concern about the manager’s ability to manage a side of this level. Some even called Luis’s approach to the training process inadequate. Scotland’s defeat broke the coach himself.
The decisive thing for the mentor is called the June matches in the League of Nations – the semi-final against Italy and, if you’re lucky, the final match. If it comes to resignation, the backbone of the national team will probably start to reshape again.