What the new national coach Hansi Flick already indicated two weeks ago, Ilkay Gündogan confirmed on Sunday: The 30-year-old midfielder will continue his career in the national soccer team.
"After the positive talks with Hansi it was clear to me: I am not finished with the chapter on the national team", Gündogan told the kicker. The midfielder of the English champions Manchester City wanted to let the early elimination from the European Championship "sink in" first.
Future of the national team
The conversations with Flick had motivated him to continue playing for the DFB team: "He explained to me how he would like to be successful with us again in the future and what role I should play in it." So far, Gündogan has made 49 international matches, in which he scored eleven goals.
When he was introduced almost two weeks ago, Flick had already stated that apart from Toni Kroos, no player would step down.