Nico Schlotterbeck is back in the DFB team—and immediately back in the starting lineup. Ahead of the important World Cup qualifier in Northern Ireland, the 25-year-old spoke about his return to the national team and his teammate Jonathan Tah.
It would perhaps be an exaggeration to talk about time-wasting. However, the DFB defense did not have to fulfill its original defensive role on Friday against Luxembourg (4-0), as the game in Sinsheim was too one-sided. When the German team meets Northern Ireland at Windsor Park in Belfast on Monday, this scenario is unlikely to be repeated. After their 2-0 win over Slovakia, the hosts can dream of World Cup qualification, as they have six points to their name after three games, just like the Germans and Slovaks.
For the DFB team, this means that a slip-up is absolutely forbidden in front of the atmospheric backdrop of the 18,000-capacity stadium, 850 of whom will be supporting the German team. In the event of a defeat, national coach Julian Nagelsmann’s team would no longer have victory in Group A in their own hands ahead of the final games in Luxembourg and against Slovakia. A draw would give Slovakia the chance to climb back to the top of the table with a win against Luxembourg.
One player who will be looking to ensure that Germany’s opponents are kept at bay, as they were on Friday, is Nico Schlotterbeck. The Dortmund defender, who made his 45-minute comeback for Germany against Luxembourg after a six-month injury break, will once again form the central defense alongside Jonathan Tah. There, he will not only be tasked with intercepting what are likely to be numerous long balls from the Northern Irish, but also with setting the tone in his own team’s build-up play.
Schlotterbeck: “I’m fit and in better shape than ever”
“Nico gives us outstanding build-up play, a great will to win and, finally, a left foot at the back again,” said Nagelsmann ahead of the October training camp, for which he immediately nominated Schlotterbeck despite his lack of playing time for his club Borussia Dortmund – and also sent him straight back into the starting line-up against Luxembourg. “We’re glad he’s back.”
The same applies to the ambitious Schlotterbeck: “I’m doing very well. I’ve had five and a half months to prepare for the many games. I’m as fit and well-trained as I’ve rarely been before,” he said on Sunday in Belfast at the press conference ahead of the game, which also appeals to him because of the special atmosphere: “As a soccer player, you wait for games like this. I know it from Dortmund, where there are 80,000 people in the stadium every two weeks. Here there are a little fewer, but they are just as loud. We are up for it and want to keep going to stay in first place in the group.”
For Schlotterbeck, the DFB appearances are also about very personal goals. In the absence of the injured Antonio Rüdiger, the Dortmund player can establish himself in the German defense. Especially since Nagelsmann values not only Schlotterbeck himself, but also his combination with Tah. “I was very happy with Schlotti and also with Jona against Luxembourg,” said the national coach on Sunday, giving an insight into what he expects from his central defenders: “We talk a lot about the chain. There are many phases where they need to be active, with the ball, but also when the opponent has possession.“ Schlotterbeck is also a fan of the pairing: ”I’ve known Jona for a few years now and I’m always happy when I get to play with him. We complement each other well,“ said the left-footed player about his current teammate in the national team – adding with a smile: ”For me, the topic of the ball is even more interesting than for him, but he is perhaps the better defender.” Unlike on Friday against Luxembourg, both qualities are likely to be important on Monday in the heated atmosphere of Windsor Park.
