You have settled in well.

The accommodation, which the German Football Association (DFB) chose as a base camp, is very popular with the players: the smart hotel is within throwing distance of the Thames, the park around it ensures seclusion, the training ground is on the site of a rugby club can be reached in a few minutes by bike, and the stadium, where they compete with Austria this Thursday (9 p.m. in the FAZ live ticker for the European Football Championship, in ARD and on DAZN) for the semi-finals of the European Championship, is only a few minutes away intersections removed.

Marc Heinrich

sports editor.

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In short: no comparison to previous quarters, which sometimes had to be shared by several national teams and in which those involved almost inevitably got in each other's way.

In Brentford, on the other hand, there is a feel-good atmosphere, with Martina Voss-Tecklenburg being convinced that the relaxed working atmosphere has a beneficial effect on the achievement of her projects.

The DFB selection wants to be involved in this European Championship until the last Sunday in July and then aim for the title in the final at Wembley: "We know why we're here," said the national coaches in London.

Voss-Tecklenburg and a special energy

However, she is also aware that there are still a number of hurdles that need to be overcome.

However, she has no doubts about the necessary determination of her players because she feels a special energy every day.

The travel group from Germany has transformed the garden of their idyllic shelter on the outskirts of the metropolis into an outdoor playground next to the swimming pool: table tennis, tech ball, dartboard, boule balls, decks of cards or dice cups – if you want, you can find them in the moments when Voss-Tecklenburg does not ask to get in the mood for upcoming tasks, there are enough opportunities to pass the free time in an entertaining way.

Whereby there is constant "battle", as the 54-year-old emphasizes the desire of the players for constant competition in a tone that has long been influenced by English: "Each of them always wants to win." That makes her optimistic.

After three preliminary round victories, their 23-man squad is by no means enough and has shown that, in addition to high individual quality, they have a collective will to assert themselves in order to be able to take on any opponent.

She is therefore not in the least afraid of the neighborhood duel: "We will be well prepared and start with fire," announced the 54-year-old.

She is "very relaxed" and "very sure" that her team will deliver the right performance.

In the semi-final next Wednesday they could then meet the winner of the match between France and Holland.

Dreams of the future for the national coach, whose focus is initially on the here and now.

She also no longer looks back at the 2019 World Cup, when the Germans failed in the quarter-finals in a similarly promising constellation, because the setback was processed and appropriate consequences were drawn from it.

"We've all developed further," says Voss-Tecklenburg, "the distribution of roles is now clearer." That applies to both the team and the support staff.

"Because we didn't know each other that well back then."

There are many one-on-one talks behind all of them, and they have permanently involved the five-strong team council in communication.

"Internally we have clarity and understanding for the steps we are taking." Everyone is aware of the opportunity and the risk of the starting position against a competitor who is playing with 14 players from the Bundesliga and therefore appears more predictable on the one hand, but in the Conversely, they also tend to know what the protagonists of the DFB are up to.

"It's going to be intense for sure because they're emotionally similar to us.

It hits heart to heart,” said Voss-Tecklenburg.

"Anyone who thinks there are easy tasks in a European Championship quarter-final will go home," warned the national coach, although she emphasized that she was no longer as impatient as she was in the early days when she interpreted the role as chief.

She too, who used to see herself as a "lone fighter" and was therefore "very dominant" and preferred to organize the entire training session on her own, setting up each exercise station and checking that it was carried out correctly, has now started to delegate competencies to her no less committed staff and to involve the team in decision-making processes - which would have been unthinkable in their active days.

You are now specifically asking about the player's perspective, "because then you come together," said Voss-Tecklenburg.

"This is how trust was created, which gives security and is reflected in the performance."

She rated the victories against Denmark, Spain and Finland as "helpful to keep growing".

In every encounter, the Germans were able to eliminate the strengths of the other side and “play what we wanted ourselves”.

They are also pursuing this plan against Austria.

"And if we get what we set out to do on the pitch, there's a good chance we'll get through." It's fun to be the coach of a team that "always wants more" and doesn't want to stop earlier at this European Championship, "until the big picture is done," said Voss-Tecklenburg.

In other words: After almost three weeks on the British Isles, there can be no talk of homesickness.