Emre Can may well have scored off the bench in Germany's 5-1 thrashing of Scotland in the Euro 2024 opener, but the midfielder was far from fully fit.
The Borussia Dortmund captain was called up by coach Julian Nagelsmann on Wednesday to replace the ill Aleksandar Pavlovic in the 26-man squad. Things did not initially go to plan.
"I missed the first call. Then he sent me a WhatsApp. Then I called him, he didn't answer and then he called me back again," the 30-year-old told reporters at Germany's Bavarian base on Sunday.
He was sitting at the breakfast table at home with his wife when the call finally came.
"She was very, very happy," Can reported, even though their holiday in Spain had to be cancelled.
Can, part of the Borussia Dortmund side who lost to Real Madrid in the Champions League final on June 1, admitted he had not been keeping his fitness up since. But he was not going to tell Nagelsmann that.
"I immediately said that I was ready - even though I hadn't done anything for 10 days," Can grinned.
It all worked out with his Munich cameo from the bench, where he is also likely to be for the second Group A game against Hungary in Stuttgart on Wednesday.
Can was also asked about new Dortmund coach Nuri Şahin, who has stepped up from assistant and taken over from Edin Terzic after the latter's resignation.
"I'm really, really happy for Nuri. I have a very good relationship with him, that's true. He's an incredibly good coach. And he will definitely help us further," said Can, who like Şahin is a German Turk. He opted to play for Germany while Şahin chose Turkey.
