- Joined
- May 8, 2002
- Posts
- 392,366
- Reaction score
- 43
You must be registered for see images attach
Munich's Joshua Kimmich sits on the pitch during the UEFA Champions League round of 16 second leg soccer match between Bayer Leverkusen and Bayern Munich at the BayArena. Rolf Vennenbernd/dpa
Germany captain Joshua Kimmich has said that winning the Nations League in June can help the team do well at next year's World Cup.
Speaking to broadcasters ZDF on Saturday night ahead of a Nations League quarter-final tie with Italy, Kimmich cited the example of Spain who won Euro 2024 the year after the Nations League title.
"Everyone says they don't care until they win it. I had the feeling with the Spaniards that they enjoyed winning the Nations League. That has to be our goal too," Kimmich said.
"I'm convinced that you can't go to a tournament and say, now we're ready, now we're going to give it our all, now we're going to play well. It's also important that the path to the tournament is good, consistent and successful. The Nations League can help us there."
The German team gathers on Monday for the games against Italy on Thursday in Milan and Sunday in Dortmund. The winner of the tie will host the four-team finals in early June.
The 2026 World Cup takes place in the United States, Mexico and Canada. Four-time winners Germany want to do better there than in the last two editions when they went out in the group stage.
Bayern Munich's Kimmich is set to earn his 98th and 99th cap against Italy which means that he would reach 100 in a potential Nations League semi-final.
"For me, the 100th international cap is something really, really special," he said.
"Reaching that would be something I'd be very proud of. That's why I'm now looking to reach 100, ideally in the semi-finals, and we'll give it our all next week."
Continue reading...
