Germany finally seem to have stabilized the left-back position in the form of VfB Stuttgart star Maximilian Mittelstädt. The 27-year-old featured at Tuesday’s press conference ahead of Germany’s second group stage match at EURO 2024 — a Wednesday tilt against Hungary.
And the Germans know they cannot take their opponent lightly, even after demolishing Scotland 5-1 in the tournament opener.
“We have to be extremely careful and be aware that Hungary defend very compactly. Like against Scotland, we have to find the gaps, be efficient and score goals. Hungary have recently had very good results against the big nations. We have to be at 100% and bring our performance onto the pitch,” Mittelstädt explained at Tuesday’s pre-game press conference (captured via @iMiaSanMia).
This Hungary team is well represented in the Bundesliga — which means many players who have played on big stages as well as a degree of familiarity for members of the German national team.
“Willi Orban [RB Leipzig] is a good defender with good headers and is also a big threat in attack. Dominik Szoboszlai [Liverpool, formerly RB Leipzig] of course, especially with his creativity and his shooting technique. Roland Sallai [SC Freiburg] is a very good 1v1 player. I have played against all three and know how to adapt to them,” Mittelstädt added.
Finally, the Stuttgart man expressed delight about the venue of this match — at his home club stadium.
“I’m very happy, I have many great memories from this stadium and hope that tomorrow there will be another one. My girlfriend will be in the stadium tomorrow, as will my entire family. It’s obviously hard when you’re separated from your family for several weeks. But I’m looking forward to seeing them again tomorrow,” he concluded.
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