Germany face their final challenge of the group stage as they take on Switzerland in Frankfurt on Sunday (21:00 CEST). Head coach Julian Nagelsmann and centre-back Jonathan Tah spoke about the opponent, their aims and what’s still to come in the tournament.
Julian Nagelsmann on…
… possible changes to the starting line-up: As it stands, we’re not planning to make any changes. In general, it’s important that we stay in our rhythm. I’m not worried about players being on yellow cards because I trust the squad. I have full trust in every player that they’ll give everything, which could lead to them getting suspended. Of course there’s some positions and some players with certain qualities where we’ll have to think about it, but I still believe we should give everything. We have a good squad and if a different player has to come in, he can do an equally good job.
… Switzerland: Their head coach, Murat Yakin, is definitely capable of causing us problems. He’s a good coach and a good personality. They have a nice mix of youth and experience. Their young players don’t all play for big clubs yet, but they’re still hungry. Switzerland are definitely our strongest opponent in the group stage. It’ll be a good and interesting challenge and we’re looking forward to it. I hope that we’ll win our third group game as well.
… Germany’s possible opponents in the knockout stage: I’m not going to tell my team to lose on purpose so that we can avoid certain sides. It would make no sense to say something like that to a team who are so hungry for success. We don’t know yet exactly who our next opponents will be. We’re going to try to stay in our rhythm and play with confidence. We want to win our next game, and then we’ll look at who the next opponents will be.
… Leroy Sané: Leroy and I have a good relationship. He didn’t train for five weeks at the end of the season. It’ll just take a bit of time for him to get back into his full rhythm. He’s a player who can win you games, but he just has to be patient now. That won’t be a problem for him though. He’s a nice guy who won’t throw his toys out of the pram. Of course he wants to be playing more, like everyone who’s not starting, but that’s a good thing.
… Gündogan’s position and his qualities: I consider him as a key part of our transitions between defence and attack. He knows when to play a bit more slowly and not just boot the ball forwards. In general, that’s his strongest asset for us. He’s also a player with an eye for goal and currently has the joint-most goal involvements at the tournament. Playing in the number eight position for us means he can get into the box and make a difference in attack.
… Granit Xhaka: He’s had a very good season, and is vital for his team both on and off the pitch. He’s a vocal presence and is an important cog in the team, and he was a big part of Leverkusen having such a good season.
… trying to score from set pieces: Set pieces will always be important for us. Our set-piece coach, Mads Buttgereit, has been working very hard on it. That also involves looking at the mistakes opponents make and whether they fail to deal with certain situations. You have to work on set pieces that drag players into certain areas that create space in others. Maybe we can help to increase the number of goals from these at this tournament, hopefully in the next game.
Jonathan Tah on…
… a possible suspension: You know it’s always a risk, but that won’t change how I tackle. I’ll go into every challenge as I always do.
… the key to the team’s solid defensive record: It’s about doing things as a team and accepting that we’ll be put through some tough moments. That gives us strength and in turn boosts our confidence when we have the ball.
… Germany’s European Championship fever: We can definitely feel the buzz around the EUROs – it pushes us forward as a team. We’ve managed to rekindle everyone’s belief – to do that, it was important for us to believe in ourselves first.
… dealing with fatigue: I’ve played so many games this season and I have ways to cope with tired legs – and I’ll be in recovery mode right up until the day before the match, too. But I know what I need to do to get myself back to 100 per cent for every game.
… his link-up play with Toni Kroos: Toni is an outstanding player, everyone knows the quality he has on the ball. It’s fun to be on the pitch with him. His ball retention is incredible and he controls the pace of the game. What he delivers for the team is outstanding.
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Germany face their final challenge of the group stage as they take on Switzerland in Frankfurt on Sunday (21:00 CEST). Head coach Julian Nagelsmann and centre-back Jonathan Tah spoke about the opponent, their aims and what’s still to come in the tournament.
Julian Nagelsmann on…
… possible changes to the starting line-up: As it stands, we’re not planning to make any changes. In general, it’s important that we stay in our rhythm. I’m not worried about players being on yellow cards because I trust the squad. I have full trust in every player that they’ll give everything, which could lead to them getting suspended. Of course there’s some positions and some players with certain qualities where we’ll have to think about it, but I still believe we should give everything. We have a good squad and if a different player has to come in, he can do an equally good job.
… Switzerland: Their head coach, Murat Yakin, is definitely capable of causing us problems. He’s a good coach and a good personality. They have a nice mix of youth and experience. Their young players don’t all play for big clubs yet, but they’re still hungry. Switzerland are definitely our strongest opponent in the group stage. It’ll be a good and interesting challenge and we’re looking forward to it. I hope that we’ll win our third group game as well.
… Germany’s possible opponents in the knockout stage: I’m not going to tell my team to lose on purpose so that we can avoid certain sides. It would make no sense to say something like that to a team who are so hungry for success. We don’t know yet exactly who our next opponents will be. We’re going to try to stay in our rhythm and play with confidence. We want to win our next game, and then we’ll look at who the next opponents will be.
… Leroy Sané: Leroy and I have a good relationship. He didn’t train for five weeks at the end of the season. It’ll just take a bit of time for him to get back into his full rhythm. He’s a player who can win you games, but he just has to be patient now. That won’t be a problem for him though. He’s a nice guy who won’t throw his toys out of the pram. Of course he wants to be playing more, like everyone who’s not starting, but that’s a good thing.
… Gündogan’s position and his qualities: I consider him as a key part of our transitions between defence and attack. He knows when to play a bit more slowly and not just boot the ball forwards. In general, that’s his strongest asset for us. He’s also a player with an eye for goal and currently has the joint-most goal involvements at the tournament. Playing in the number eight position for us means he can get into the box and make a difference in attack.
… Granit Xhaka: He’s had a very good season, and is vital for his team both on and off the pitch. He’s a vocal presence and is an important cog in the team, and he was a big part of Leverkusen having such a good season.
… trying to score from set pieces: Set pieces will always be important for us. Our set-piece coach, Mads Buttgereit, has been working very hard on it. That also involves looking at the mistakes opponents make and whether they fail to deal with certain situations. You have to work on set pieces that drag players into certain areas that create space in others. Maybe we can help to increase the number of goals from these at this tournament, hopefully in the next game.
Jonathan Tah on…
… a possible suspension: You know it’s always a risk, but that won’t change how I tackle. I’ll go into every challenge as I always do.
… the key to the team’s solid defensive record: It’s about doing things as a team and accepting that we’ll be put through some tough moments. That gives us strength and in turn boosts our confidence when we have the ball.
… Germany’s European Championship fever: We can definitely feel the buzz around the EUROs – it pushes us forward as a team. We’ve managed to rekindle everyone’s belief – to do that, it was important for us to believe in ourselves first.
… dealing with fatigue: I’ve played so many games this season and I have ways to cope with tired legs – and I’ll be in recovery mode right up until the day before the match, too. But I know what I need to do to get myself back to 100 per cent for every game.
… his link-up play with Toni Kroos: Toni is an outstanding player, everyone knows the quality he has on the ball. It’s fun to be on the pitch with him. His ball retention is incredible and he controls the pace of the game. What he delivers for the team is outstanding.
