Ilkay Gündogan has said he is not yet in his best shape in the final Euro 2024 countdown, and that his status as Germany captain doesn't automatically make him a starter.
Gündogan played 45 minutes in Monday's 0-0 draw with Ukraine, and his performance as well as a late howler from goalkeeper Mannuel Neuer were among the talking points over the past days.
Exhausting first season at Barcelona
The 33-year-old midfielder said ahead of Friday's final test against Greece and the Euro opener a week later against Scotland that he was coming off "one of the toughest seasons" of his career with "an extreme amount of minutes in my bones."
Gündogan has finished his first season with Barcelona after seven years at Manchester City, and played almost every match because Barca's squad has less depth than City which allows him less rest.
"It's good that you manage the minutes, that I only played 45 minutes against Ukraine. The aim now is to be in top shape and ready to invest everything in the tournament before the opening game," he said at the team's Euro base camp in Herzogenaurach.
"We also have another week after the friendly. That helps me enormously."
The captain doesn't automatically play
Gündogan is an important figure among the core players of coach Julian Nagelsmann with his vast experience but he said that he has to fight for his place in the starting 11 like every other player.
"Modern football has changed. It is not structured in a way that you say the captain always has to play. The performance level is simply too high," he said.
"We have a lot of great footballers. You have to prove yourself all the time, regardless whether you are the captain or not.
"You must give the coach the feeling that you are ready. It is then the responsibility of the coach to find the right players."
Neuer's status
Nagelsmann has said that former captain Neuer will be his first choice between the posts, and he will not change his mind despite Neuer's big mistake against Ukraine in his first Germany match in 18 months after a foot fracture and illness.
Neuer came out of goal in the 88th minute and chipped the ball right to the opposition but a subsequent Ukraine goal was nullified for offside. The 39-year-old has also not always looked good in previous games, including the Champions League semi-final against Real Madrid.
Nagelsmann insisted after the Ukraine match that "it would be a bigger mistake with grave consequences if he doesn't go for the ball," and forward Kai Havertz also backed Neuer by naming him "the best goalkeeper who has ever played.
"From 500 moments something like this happens once, but in the other 499 moments he saves us and helps us win games,’ Havertz told Kicker sports magazine.
"When you know he's in goal, it gives you a different feeling."
Ter Stegen disappointment
Like at previous tournaments, Barcelona goalkeeper Marc Andre ter Stegen will have to be content with a back-up role, and while saying he gets on well with Neuer he didn't hide his disappointment about another first-choice snub.
"It's not a pleasant situation. But the coach made the decision and I accept it, even if I don't agree with him," Ter Stegen told reporters.