After Germanys hard-earned 20 win in Luxembourg, Julian Nagelsmann struck a critical tone, praising the result but questioning the manner in which it was achieved. His comments highlighted both the concerns from a shaky first half and the key moments that ultimately secured the victory.
Julian Nagelsmann was relieved to take all three points from Germanys hard-fought 20 win in Luxembourg, but his post-match assessment was far from celebratory. The national team coach made it clear that despite the result, the performance left plenty of room for improvement.
We have three points – football is a results business after all – but it was more difficult than we had hoped, Nagelsmann began. He criticised the teams recurring pattern of starting slowly: The first half was once again quite sluggish. We needed the second half to really get ourselves into the game. In his view, Germany lacked dynamism and intent early on. In the first 45 minutes we were too static, too inflexible, too unmotivated. The commitment was better in the second half.
Nagelsmann did not shy away from acknowledging that Luxembourg had threatened to punish Germanys lethargy. We would have deserved to concede a goal, he admitted. That didnt happen, and in the end we took our chances and won the game – thats the most important thing for me.
One aspect of the display clearly frustrated him: Germanys cautious ball circulation. Id love to see a statistic showing how many times we played backwards, he said. In the first half, I think we had only one or two balls played properly into the final third. We acted too cautiously and kept involving our goalkeeper Baumann, which in most situations wasnt even necessary.
There were, however, individual positives. Nagelsmann singled out Leroy Sané for his impact in the decisive moments. Sané had two very good actions that led to our two goals. On the first goal he did an outstanding job, he said. He had a good game overall with decisive contributions – and thats what matters in the end.
He also explained a tactical decision involving forwards Nick Woltemade and Kevin Schade. From Schade I want to see even more runs in behind, Nagelsmann noted. Woltemade had to drop deep a lot to receive the ball, so we wanted Schade to give the game some new dimensions.
Looking ahead to the next match – where a single point would secure top spot in the group – Nagelsmann made it clear that Germany will not play for a draw. Ive never spoken to a team about aiming for just one point, he said. We will give everything to win the game. That is, and must be, our standard.