'It will be a very funny game against both Lukes because Luke Littler said he'll never come back to Germany' - Pietreczko & Schindler eye World Cup meeting with England

In Frankfurt, the host nation Germany made an excellent start to the 2025 World Cup of Darts on Thursday night. Martin Schindler and Ricardo Pietreczko were far too strong for Portugal, winning 4-2 in their first group match. Tonight they will play for the group win against Singapore.

For Pietreczko, this year marks his debut at this year's World Cup of Darts. "The crowd was very cool," he says in his post-match press conference afterwards. "There was no whistling, no booing, they were just supporting us so it was very good."

Alongside the support that comes from being a host nation, there is also extra pressure attached. "It would probably have been easier to play somewhere like Australia!" Schindler laughs. "But honestly, you have to take the situation as it is, so we are playing in front of a home crowd and we have the fans' demand."

With this being Pietreczko's debut, it is also, of course, the first time the German pair have teamed up on the big stage. "Right now, we are the two best to represent Germany. We are trying to do our best and obviously, we don't want to fail," says Schindler. "If we succeed then great, if we don't then yeah, we'll probably not be happy."