Germany’s Boateng questions England quality
‘Germany, France, Belgium and Spain are candidates for semis’
BERLIN, May 26, (Agencies): Germany central defender Jerome Boateng has questioned whether England have enough quality to excel at next month’s European Championship.
Despite having the world’s richest league, England go into the competition in France having not won a major tournament since landing the 1966 World Cup on home soil.
“England beat us 3-2 in Berlin (in March) but I do not know if in matters of quality and consistency they have enough for an entire tournament,” Boateng told German Railway DB Mobil magazine.
Roy Hodgson’s men came from two goals down to defeat the world champions in their friendly earlier this year.
“Spain, France and Belgium are in my opinion candidates for the semi-finals,” said Boateng. “Along with our team of course”.
The Germans, who won the World Cup for a fourth time in 2014, have reached at least the semi-finals of every major tournament since 2006 and face Ukraine, Poland and Northern Ireland in the Euro 2016 group stages.
England take on Russia, Slovakia and Wales in Group B of the 24-team tournament that starts on June 10.
Meanwhile, Bastian Schweinsteiger said on Wednesday he would recover from a knee injury in time to captain Germany at the European Championship, even though it remained unclear when he would return to the pitch.
“I’m doing well, I am very confident,” he told journalists at a press conference in the Swiss town of Ascona, where the German national squad has set up its training camp ahead of the tournament in France.
“I am trying to do a bit more day by day,” said Schweinsteiger, who has 114 caps, adding that his recovery was well within schedule.
The World Cup winning midfielder has not played since tearing his knee ligament while training with Germany in March.
But coach Joachim Loew has named him in a preliminary Euro 2016 squad of 27, which has to be trimmed to 23 by next Tuesday. Loew said he was giving Schweinsteiger until Friday or Saturday before deciding.
“He has achieved a lot physically in the last few weeks, and that’s a good basis. I am optimistic about the coming weeks,” said Loew, adding that the midfield general would need “a few days” before returning to the pitch.
Die Mannschaft is plagued with injury worries, with defender Mats Hummels also sitting out training after he picked up a hamstring tear at the end of the league season.
But Loew voiced confidence that Hummels, also a member of Germany’s World Cup winning squad, will recover in time.
Defensive midfielder Sami Khedira, who had been suffering from a calf injury, is expected to return to training on Thursday. Germany will play a friendly against Slovakia on May 29 in Augsburg and another against Hungary in Gelsenkirchen on June 4.