The VfB attacker made his World Cup debut in Germany’s 2-1 win over Côte d’Ivoire, coming on in the 60th minute. Next up for the DFB-Team is the third group match on Thursday, 25 June, at 22:00 CEST. At the official DFB press conference, Leweling reflected on the tournament so far and looked ahead to the upcoming encounter.
Jamie Leweling on…
… a shirt gifted to him by former Brazil striker Ronaldo: “A lot of people noticed that I changed my profile picture on Instagram before the World Cup (Leweling appeared in a photo montage with the hairstyle of Brazilian striker Ronaldo). It was actually meant as a joke but it attracted a huge amount of attention. Even Ronaldo noticed it – and then sent me a shirt from him. That made me very happy and it’s something special.”
… his World Cup debut: “I’m very pleased that I got to play my first minutes at this World Cup against Côte d’Ivoire and help the team. We have a very good spirit in the team – the players who come in know that they can make an immediate impact.”
… the next opponents: “Ecuador are a high-quality side, a lot of their players are well known from the European leagues. We have to prepare well and I’m sure that we’ll find ways to be successful.”
… the relevance of ‘German virtues’ at the tournament: “We’re physically at a good level, covering a lot of kilometres and have a strong team spirit. They’re part of the German virtues and an important basis for our game. We fought until the end against Côte d’Ivoire and turned it around. That gives us further confidence.”
… his impression of the World Cup so far: “The tournament is working well so far, the matches have been cool and entertaining. The ceremonies before kick-off are ‘USA-like’ in my view. It’s more of a show than in Europe, but personally I like that. We’ve started the tournament well and there’s been a lot of support for us from the stands, which is obviously fun.”
