“We’ve sparked a sense of euphoria”

The past few days have been something of a whirlwind for Maximilian Mittelstädt. Not only did the 27-year-old receive his first call-up to the senior Germany squad ahead of their friendlies against France and Netherlands, he also started both matches. After helping Germany to victory in each game (2-0 and 2-1 respectively) and even scoring in the latter, the left-back returned to Stuttgart in the early hours on Wednesday alongside international teammates Deniz Undav, Chris Führich and Waldemar Anton.

“We got home late and I had trouble getting to sleep,” said Mittelstädt, who was understandably delighted with the way the last few days have panned out. “I’m still a bit tired but I’ll use the next couple of days to make sure I recover properly. We were really warmly welcomed [in the national team] and soon felt at home and made friends. We’re all very proud of making our debuts. As a young boy you dream of playing for Germany. The wins over France and Netherlands were very important.”

The victories “achieved the team’s aims of sparking a sense of euphoria in the country” ahead of hosting the 2024 European Championship in June.

Now, however, his focus has returned to the Bundesliga, with VfB welcoming 1. FC Heidenheim to the MHPArena on Easter Sunday (kick-off 17:30 CEST). “We’ll get back to business after we recover,” Mittelstädt concluded. “We’ve got a score to settle with Heidenheim.”