"A great sense of anticipation"

An interview with Kilian Fischer ahead of the start of the U21 European Championship.

Kilian Fischer für die Nationalmannschaft am Ball.

Half a dozen Wolves have already been in action for their national teams this summer, and now it's the turn of three VfL youngsters to be in the spotlight: the U21 European Championship gets underway for Micky van de Ven (Netherlands) and Bartol Franjic (Croatia) today, while Kilian Fischer and Germany have their first group game on Thursday against Israel (kick-off 18:00 CEST). In this interview, Fischer, 22, gives his thoughts on the upcoming tournament in Georgia and Romania.

Kilian Fischer, you are about to participate in your first major tournament. How do you feel?

Kilian Fischer: "I feel a great sense of anticipation. The last few days with the team have been really good. The closer we get to the start of the tournament, the more fired up we are to get started."

Players generally only get to go to a U21 European Championship once in their careers. How important is the tournament for you?

Fischer: "There's no question that this European Championship means a great deal to me. Two years ago I'd never have thought that I'd be in the national team, let alone be at a tournament like this. That's another reason why I'm really looking forward to it."

"There's no question that this European Championship means a great deal to me. Two years ago I'd never have thought that I'd be in the national team, let alone be at a tournament like this. That's another reason why I'm really looking forward to it."

Kilian Fischer

Germany have reached the final at each of the last three editions and are the defending champions. Do you feel that automatically makes you one of the favourites for the title?

Fischer: "You have to look at it differently because it's a completely new team out on the pitch, not only for us but for the other countries too. Having said that, I think the expectations put on a German team are always relatively high. Obviously we're aiming for the best-case scenario and want to win the title."

First up, you're playing Israel on Thursday. What kind of game are you expecting?

Fischer: "We faced Israel in qualifying, so we know we're in for a tough game. They didn't make things easy for us at all. The fact that Israel recently finished third at the U20 World Cup shows you just how well they work over there."

What's your personal aim going into the tournament?

Fischer: "I haven't actually set any objectives. I'm just happy to be here and to have the opportunity to test myself against the best players in my age group. Obviously I also hope to get some playing time, but I'm quite confident that I will. If all goes well we'll have six games in two and a half weeks, so I'm sure we'll need everyone."