UEFA Nations League Final Four Preview
'Cristiano Ronaldo has crazy numbers, especially when you look at the consistency,' commended Kimmich. 'He's been playing at a very high level for over 20 years, performing for his country.'
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Jonathan Tah and Waldemar Anton will be the likely duo that will be tasked with stopping the threat of Ronaldo.
How do Germany look heading into the game?
Nagelsmann's side come into this game having overcome Italy, winning 5-4 on aggregate. A somewhat controlling performance despite conceding three goals in the second-leg, the national team will feel confident heading into Wednesday tie.
And they also have a good record against Portugal. They've won their last five against Wednesday's opposition dating back to July 2006. Germany won 4-2 in their previous meeting against Portugal which came at Euro 2020 during the Covid-19 era.
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Much of the team – then coached by Joachim Löw – has changed massively under Nagelsmann. There was no Florian Wirtz or Jamal Musiala back then and while Musiala is sidelined, there's a debutant within the squad that has taken the Bundesliga by storm.
Nick Woltemade (23) of Stuttgart has scored 17 goals and provided three assists in 33 games across all competitions for VfB last season and is expected to lead the line for the German national team against Portugal.
Injuries hit the Germany squad
Nagelsmann has already had to deal with an injury crisis within the national team. Heading into the international break, Germany have to do without Antonio Rüdiger, Nico Schlotterbeck, Kai Havertz, Tim Kleindienst and the Musiala.
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Since then, Nadiem Amiri has since withdrawn, as has Angelo Stiller, Jonathan Burkardt and Yann Aurel Bisseck, with Monaco's Thilo Kehrer being called up.
Portugal's situation heading into Wednesday's Nations League semi-final
Joao Neves, Vitinha and Nuno Mendes have all been called up by Roberto Martinez but are unlikely to start after playing in the UEFA Champions League final against Inter on Saturday night, meaning starts for Nelson Semedo and Nuno Tavares, while Rubén Neves and João Palhinha should act as a double pivot.
Ronaldo should also lead the line for Portugal.
Probable Germany XI vs Portugal
Marc-Andre ter Stegen – Joshua Kimmich, Jonathan Tah, Waldemar Anton, Maximilian Mittelstadt – Pascal Gross, Leon Goretzka – Leroy Sane, Florian Wirtz, Serge Gnabry – Nick Woltemade
GGFN | Daniel Pinder
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Newsweek
an hour ago
- Newsweek
Zelensky Ally Says He Hopes JD Vance Not at Trump Meeting
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's upcoming return to the White House will likely go smoother if Vice President JD Vance does not attend, a senior Ukrainian official has said. The Ukrainian leader's now-infamous trip to the White House in late February saw Zelensky berated by President Donald Trump and the vice president in front of the world's cameras. The visit was a dip in already strained relations between Kyiv and the Trump administration, a hideous diplomatic moment Ukrainian officials have been keen to rectify as U.S. efforts to reach a deal to end the fighting grind on. 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Europe has jostled hard to maintain relevance in U.S.-brokered peace talks over Ukraine, looking on with nervousness at the apparent reluctance of the current administration to punish Russia or leverage significant concessions from Moscow despite its threats to do so. European leaders met virtually with Zelensky and Trump ahead of the Republican's summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska on Friday, reiterating that Ukraine should be involved in negotiations and that international borders should not be changed by force. The issue of which territory Russia and Ukraine will control in a ceasefire agreement has been one of the biggest obstacles to a deal to end the fighting. Russia annexed Crimea, the peninsula to the south of mainland Ukraine, in 2014, and backed separatists in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions of eastern Ukraine that are collectively known as the Donbas, Ukraine's industrial heartland. 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UPI
2 hours ago
- UPI
7 European leaders to join Zelensky in White House meeting Monday
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The three-on-three meeting included Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who also is Trump's national security adviser, as well as Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff. "The point was that we began to see some moderation in the way they're thinking about getting to a final peace deal," Witkoff said in an interview with Jake Tapper on CNN's State of the Union. "We made so much progress at this meeting with regard to all the other ingredients necessary for a peace deal that we, that President Trump pivoted to that place." Putin spoke about "land swaps" during the meeting, Witkoff said. Witkoff said that Putin discussed land swaps during their meeting, but did not go into specifics beyond that Putin now suggesting swaps occur at the current front lines rather than the administrative boundaries of at least some of the regions. "The Russians made some concessions at the table with regard to all five of those regions," Witkoff said. 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"Putin has many demands, but we do not know all of them, and if there are really as many as we heard, then it will take time to go through them all. "It's impossible to do this under the pressure of weapons. So it's necessary to cease-fire and work quickly on a final deal. We'll talk about it in Washington. Putin does not want to stop the killing, but he must do it," the Ukrainian president said. Von der Leyen, noting Ukraine must become a "steel porcupine, undigestible for potential invaders," said there must be no limitations on Ukraine's military. "We must have strong security guarantees to protect both Ukraine and Europe's vital security interests. Ukraine must be able to uphold its sovereignty and its territorial integrity," she said. Situation in Ukraine Russia continued aerial attacks overnight with five people dead and at least 11 injured in Ukraine's Donetsk, Kharkiv and Kherson regions, local authorities said. 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Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Yahoo
Freund gives update on Gnabry and Laimer
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