Löw: “The medical team will have their say”

Exactly two weeks before EURO 2016 gets under way in France (10th June until 10th July), World Champions Germany suffered a 3-1 home defeat against Slovakia, who are placed in Group B at the championships. Despite Mario Gomez putting Joachim Löw’s team in front, the Slovakians spoiled the party with two goals just before half time at the WWK Arena in Augsburg. After the break Slovakia faced adverse weather conditions, as a strong hailstorm came over Augsburg. Despite this, they pushed on to record a 3-1 victory. Löw has until midnight on Tuesday to send his finalised 23-man squad to UEFA. The World Cup winning coach gave an interview beforehand to DFB.de discussing lessons learned, debutants and his final squad selection.

Question: Joachim Löw, how do you assess the 3-1 defeat against Slovakia?

Joachim Löw: It was a real shame that the pitch was no longer playable in the second half. It really disrupted the flow of the game and the quality of the link-up play. In the first half we had a couple of good moves going forward, a few decent chances and some good movement. Defensively we weren’t as organised, and Slovakia had a lot of space to counterattack.

Question: What are the most important lessons learned?

Löw: We created a lot of space up front and we showed some lovely link-up play in the first half. However, we were a bit open in midfield at times and there was a lot of space either side of Sami Khedira. We weren’t putting enough pressure on their first touch.

Question: What was your opinion of the four debutants?

Löw: It was a real pressure situation for the young players, and that was clear to see. It is therefore expected that there will be a couple of mistakes here and there. I’m not too concerned about that. All of them have made a good impression in training and have enough quality.

Question: Goalkeeper Marc-André ter Stegen didn’t come across very well in the 3-1 defeat…

Löw: To go 3-1 down immediately after the break was a bit of a shock for our young team, but I am not going to lay the blame on him. I know what he is capable of and he has already shown that at Barcelona. These things happen: the pitch was wet and the ball was slippery. I know that he would normally have had no trouble catching the ball in that situation. It won’t make us lose our faith in him.

Question: What still needs to be decided before you finalise your EURO 2016 squad?

Löw: We will sit down with the medical team and figure out where we stand, but it looks like there are no more injury problems to report. Then we will need to have a small discussion. This game alone will not be the deciding factor. What is important is how the players have presented themselves in the last few months with their clubs and in Ascona during the training camp. None of the players deserve to go home. All of them are performing at a really high level and therefore it is going to be very difficult for me.

Question: When and how will you tell the players that they will not be going to the EUROs?

Löw: We want to take the time to discuss it once more and then on Monday and Tuesday we will observe training – we are looking to share it with the players as soon as possible. First of all, I will tell them personally and then the team as a whole.

Question: Is the captain Bastian Schweinsteiger going to make the team despite his injury?

Löw: Obviously the medical staff will help to make the decision on him and others in the team. If our team doctor Hans-Wilhelm Müller-Wohlfahrt tells me that he or other players will not be available in the next couple of weeks, then I will I have to base my judgement on that. We will assess all of the players once more. Bastian was involved in training on Sunday and did some work with the ball. However, I want all of our injured players to get the all clear from the doctor so that the next few weeks are risk-free.

Question: How valuable has Mario Gomez become once again for Germany, after scoring from the penalty spot to put you 1-0 up against Slovakia?

Löw: I took him off at half time because he had a slight muscle injury. This was an unplanned change but I would never take a risk with any player. Mario has not appeared very regularly for the national team in the last few years, and we still need to fine tune a few details, like the runs he should be making. He is a player with a real killer instinct, and he is especially dangerous in the penalty area. He is not always a ball-playing centre forward who links up with the midfield, however, he likes to lurk in the box where he poses the biggest threat to goal.