Germany coach Julian Nagelsmann is anxious about players getting seriously injured in Frankfurt on the slippery turf that was laid several months ago after NFL games in the stadium.
Nagelsmann raised the risk of ACL injuries when Germany plays Switzerland on Sunday (3 p.m. ET on FOX and the FOX Sports app). Germany must avoid defeat to finish on top of Group A at the European Championship.
Switzerland
SUI
+430
o2.5
Germany
GER
-148
u2.5
The Waldstadion field in rainy Frankfurt was cut up badly in two previous games at Euro 2024 — Belgium’s 1-0 loss to Slovakia and a 1-1 draw between England and Denmark, which was played under a closed roof.
“I’m not worried about the footballing aspect, more about the danger of injury to the players,” Nagelsmann said on Saturday in translated comments.
“Players such as (Jude) Bellingham we saw had problems, and they risked serious injury. If you slip you really risk getting injured,” the Germany coach said of the England star who had a subdued game on Thursday.
Nagelsmann said he also noticed England midfielder Declan Rice also slipping “and there were some very risky situations.”
This isn’t a new concern for Nagelsmann. A turf field replaced a hybrid surface for two NFL games seven months ago. Turf was then restored for Eintracht Frankfurt games ahead of the winter, and the stadium also hosted the German national team in March, for a 2-1 win in a friendly against the Netherlands.
That evening, Nagelsmann called the surface a “catastrophe,” and on Saturday said it had “not improved a lot” and was “a bit of a tricky situation.”
Switzerland coach Murat Yakin made a joke about the subject when asked, because his players also had turf issues at their tournament training base in Stuttgart. A formal…
Source link : https://www.foxsports.com/stories/soccer/germany-coach-raises-risk-injuries-slippery-frankfurt-field-euro-2024
Author :
Publish date : 2024-06-22 20:20:15
Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.
