Germany will continue to use Bastian Schweinsteiger in his role as a substitute in their second group match against Poland on Thursday, according to head coach Joachim Low.
Schweinsteiger, 31, made an impressive return from injury on Sunday, when it took the Manchester United midfielder only minutes to score in his first competitive match since a 21-minute appearance in the Red Devil’s 1-0 derby defeat of Manchester City on March 20.
The Germany captain came off the bench in the 90th minute against Ukraine on Sunday and scored two minutes into extra-time, striking from a Mesut Ozil cross after storming into the box with a 40-metre sprint.
But despite his impressive return, Schweinsteiger is set to start on the bench when Germany take on Poland in Paris on Thursday night.
“He does not have the strength to play 90 minutes, but his role off the pitch has become more and more important in recent years, too,” Germany coach Low said.
“He is a leader, both on and off the pitch, very experienced — he has won everything at club level and is also a world champion.
“Bastian is an important go-to guy for me because he thinks a lot about football. He has a great influence on our team.”
Low has not been the only one in Germany’s camp in recent weeks to highlight the importance of the former Bayern Munich player.
Many experts, however, have voiced the opinion that Schweinsteiger’s influence is limited to passing on his experience off the pitch. Keeper Manuel Neuer, on the other hand, believes that the captain remains important on the pitch.
“Schweinsteiger is our best player in the position in front of the two centre-backs. It was important that he was subbed on against Ukraine, even though it was only for a few minutes,” Neuer told kicker. “Basti knows where he has to stand in the deciding moments. He keeps the system, talks a lot on the pitch and gives us a good feeling during the match.”
Unlike Low, Neuer believes that Schweinsteiger already can go the full 90 minutes if “we keep the gaps between our lines short,” adding that this is not the case if the game “goes up and down the pitch.”
The Germany keeper is also wary of his team conceding too many set-pieces, after Ukraine won 12 corners last Sunday.
“It gave us the feeling to be under pressure although we were in control overall,” Neuer said, before remarking that the full-backs defended too high “Jerome Boateng had to defend alone in a few situations and the back four was not a line, but offset.”
Meanwhile, Germany’s “class of 96” will attend the Poland match in Paris, thanks to an invitation from the German Football Federation (DFB).
Germany last won the European Championships 20 years ago, and most of the players will be in Paris on Thursday.
Jurgen Klinsmann and former Germany coach Berti Vogts had to decline the invitation because of their work with the United States at the 2016 Copa, while Andreas Moller is busy preparing the Hungary side for their next Euro 2016 match alongside head coach Bernd Storck and Matthias Sammer will not travel because of health reasons.
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