Germany want to treat their departing coach Joachim Loew to a triumphant farewell when he steps down after Euro 2020, goalkeeper Manuel Neuer said yesterday ahead of their opening 2022 World Cup qualifiers.
The Germans host Iceland tomorrow and visit Romania on Sunday before a home game against North Macedonia on March 31 and Neuer said only a perfect start to the campaign would do. 
“We all have to push ourselves, and that includes the players and staff,” the Bayern Munich keeper told a news conference ahead of a national team training session. “We are looking forward to the next three games and the Euros this year. We have plenty to look forward to and we want to do our jobs as successfully as possible.”
Earlier this month, Loew said he would bow out after Euro 2020, with the 24-nation event pushed back a year to June 11-July 11 2021 due to the novel coronavirus pandemic, following his 15-year stint in charge. The highlight of his reign was winning the 2014 World Cup but his team crashed out of the first round at the 2018 finals and have struggled to perform at their best in recent years. A 6-0 defeat by Spain in the Nations League in November piled pressure on the current longest-serving coach in international football, but Neuer believes 61-year-old Loew deserved a red-carpet exit from the job.
“I think that he has earned the right to go out on a high,” said Neuer. “I’ve been here since 2009. Soon I’ll be 35 years old and I have gone through plenty of ups and downs with him. It’s noticeable how motivated and ambitious he is because the end to his time as coach is important to him and that’s a good sign for our upcoming games over the next few days and next summer.”
Germany have been drawn in the toughest Euro 2020 group alongside holders Portugal, world champions France and Hungary and Neuer said the start of the World Cup qualifying campaign constituted an ideal warm-up.
“We had a quick team meeting and are focused on these three games which are really important for helping us gel ahead of the Euros,” he said. “It will be important to take advantage of every training session and every game. We can’t allow any more mistakes.”
The bad news for Germany ahead of their campaign is that midfielder Toni Kroos had to pull out with a muscle injury and will return to his club Real Madrid from the national team’s training camp in Dusseldorf.
“Toni underwent a thorough check-up from our medical staff and treatment. He would have preferred to stay with us, and I hate to have to see him go,” said Loew. “However, with an eye on this summer’s (Euros) we’ve decided that it’s more important that he recovers fully first.”
In the aftermath, a survey of German fans showed 89% felt Loew had failed to rebuild the team since crashing out of the 2018 World Cup in the group stages. As Germany team director Oliver Bierhoff acknowledged Monday, the Mannschaft must “set an example” after the disgrace of the thrashing in Seville.
Loew has high hopes for Bayern Munich midfielder Jamal Musiala, 18, who has dual nationality and has opted to play senior football for Germany despite two appearances for England Under-21 last November. Likewise, Leverkusen’s Florian Wirtz, 17, the youngest ever scorer in the Bundesliga, is considered a bright prospect and has also been called up by Loew for the first time.
The head coach wants to see his players working hard in training to win starting places for Germany. “We want to see in the training sessions and matches which players are imposing themselves, who definitely wants to be there,” said Loew.
He has been able to call up five Premier League players after Germany relaxed some of the Covid-19 travel restrictions at the weekend. Nevertheless, Manchester City midfielder Ilkay Gundogan, Chelsea trio Kai Havertz, Timo Werner and Antonio Ruediger plus Arsenal goalkeeper Bernd Leno will be placed in a ‘working quarantine’ within the Germany camp.
The five will only be allowed contact with other players during training, team meetings and matches.
Meals will be taken separately. “The situation is aggravated, but we are not complaining,” Bierhoff added.
There is also no room for Dortmund captain Marco Reus who has struggled for consistency after a lengthy injury lay off. Loew is also refusing to reverse his 2019 decision to end the international careers of Thomas Mueller, Mats Hummels and Jerome Boateng. Mueller is in arguably the form of his career with four assists in as many Bundesliga games.
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