Julian Nagelsmann’s debut match as head coach of the Germany national team was nothing short of a success. Germany made an impressive comeback against the USA in Hartford and put in a particularly impressive second half performance to win the game 3-1. Julian Nagelsmann spoke in interview about the lessons learnt from his first match in charge, captain Ilkay Gündoğan, and the team’s preparation for the clash against Mexico on Wednesday (02:00 CEST) in Philadelphia.
DFB.de: Julian Nagelsmann, what was your personal highlight from the 3-1 win against the USA?
Julian Nagelsmann: I was particularly pleased with how calm we stayed rather than becoming frantic or disorganised when we went behind. We showed a lot of courage as a team, had a lot of good moves on the ball and had more patience and possession in our opponent's half in the second period. After we conceded, we tried to get back into the game too quickly and gave the ball away too often. Ilkay Gündoğan performed excellently, was always demanding the ball and was good defensively. There’s still room for improvement with our high press, but we’ll work on it. Our performance wasn’t completely perfect, but that’s a good thing – I like to work hard.
DFB.de: Does the player alongside Gündoğan, Pascal Groß, also have a chance of keeping his place when Joshua Kimmich is back from injury?
Nagelsmann: Everyone has the opportunity to earn their spot, it just depends on how well they perform. Pascal played really well, and has a great coach in Brighton who has taught him a lot. Pascal is very smart at using space and getting the opposition to commit. He’s brave on the ball, strong at counterpressing, and is capable of playing in many different positions. Although he’s been slightly under the radar in Germany for a few years, he’s got fire in his belly – playing for Germany is very special to him. He’s a very knowledgeable and intelligent footballer.
DFB.de: You praised Gündoğan highly. Could he become the leader of this team?
Nagelsmann: Ilkay doesn’t have to be a loud person - he's a really clever guy, someone who observes things, someone who picks up on a lot of things and channels these. He does this very subtly and intelligently. He's a leader on the pitch, which is worth a lot to the team. He has been playing at the highest, highest level in club football for years, so why shouldn't that be the same in the national team? You just have to give him the necessary strength and support.
DFB.de: Has the 'nine problem' finally been solved in the shape of Niclas Füllkrug?
Nagelsmann: Niclas played well. He had a difficult start, lost the ball three or four times in a row and you could see that he was thinking about it a bit. But he also had a slightly different task, not just playing centrally, so there was a lot of new things for him to take in. Thomas Müller only played for ten minutes, but he had three world-class touches. Obviously, it would be nice if you had 20 centre-forwards to pick from, but we have a few very capable centre-forwards and a few around them.
DFB.de: The initial reactions to your debut have been positive. Are you hoping that you can go on a run now?
Nagelsmann: I am looking forward to the next step. I’m pleased for the team that there is positive feedback. It was important that we have a certain aesthetic quality to our game. This looked good today, we played sensible and passionate football. The basic thing for me it that they have fun. The national team is not an everyday thing, but something to be passionate about, that’s what I want to see and that was good. It would be nice if this run continued – and finishing with a happy ending would be even better.
DFB.de: How are you planning to reward the players for this successful first game? And how will you approach the game against Mexico?
Nagelsmann: I won’t be giving them half a day off, maybe an hour or so – we aren't just here to have a good time. We will definitely change a few things against Mexico because I want to see as many players as possible in a game, not just in training. It will then maybe be a bit different in November.
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Julian Nagelsmann’s debut match as head coach of the Germany national team was nothing short of a success. Germany made an impressive comeback against the USA in Hartford and put in a particularly impressive second half performance to win the game 3-1. Julian Nagelsmann spoke in interview about the lessons learnt from his first match in charge, captain Ilkay Gündoğan, and the team’s preparation for the clash against Mexico on Wednesday (02:00 CEST) in Philadelphia.
DFB.de: Julian Nagelsmann, what was your personal highlight from the 3-1 win against the USA?
Julian Nagelsmann: I was particularly pleased with how calm we stayed rather than becoming frantic or disorganised when we went behind. We showed a lot of courage as a team, had a lot of good moves on the ball and had more patience and possession in our opponent's half in the second period. After we conceded, we tried to get back into the game too quickly and gave the ball away too often. Ilkay Gündoğan performed excellently, was always demanding the ball and was good defensively. There’s still room for improvement with our high press, but we’ll work on it. Our performance wasn’t completely perfect, but that’s a good thing – I like to work hard.
DFB.de: Does the player alongside Gündoğan, Pascal Groß, also have a chance of keeping his place when Joshua Kimmich is back from injury?
Nagelsmann: Everyone has the opportunity to earn their spot, it just depends on how well they perform. Pascal played really well, and has a great coach in Brighton who has taught him a lot. Pascal is very smart at using space and getting the opposition to commit. He’s brave on the ball, strong at counterpressing, and is capable of playing in many different positions. Although he’s been slightly under the radar in Germany for a few years, he’s got fire in his belly – playing for Germany is very special to him. He’s a very knowledgeable and intelligent footballer.
DFB.de: You praised Gündoğan highly. Could he become the leader of this team?
Nagelsmann: Ilkay doesn’t have to be a loud person - he's a really clever guy, someone who observes things, someone who picks up on a lot of things and channels these. He does this very subtly and intelligently. He's a leader on the pitch, which is worth a lot to the team. He has been playing at the highest, highest level in club football for years, so why shouldn't that be the same in the national team? You just have to give him the necessary strength and support.
DFB.de: Has the 'nine problem' finally been solved in the shape of Niclas Füllkrug?
Nagelsmann: Niclas played well. He had a difficult start, lost the ball three or four times in a row and you could see that he was thinking about it a bit. But he also had a slightly different task, not just playing centrally, so there was a lot of new things for him to take in. Thomas Müller only played for ten minutes, but he had three world-class touches. Obviously, it would be nice if you had 20 centre-forwards to pick from, but we have a few very capable centre-forwards and a few around them.
DFB.de: The initial reactions to your debut have been positive. Are you hoping that you can go on a run now?
Nagelsmann: I am looking forward to the next step. I’m pleased for the team that there is positive feedback. It was important that we have a certain aesthetic quality to our game. This looked good today, we played sensible and passionate football. The basic thing for me it that they have fun. The national team is not an everyday thing, but something to be passionate about, that’s what I want to see and that was good. It would be nice if this run continued – and finishing with a happy ending would be even better.
DFB.de: How are you planning to reward the players for this successful first game? And how will you approach the game against Mexico?
Nagelsmann: I won’t be giving them half a day off, maybe an hour or so – we aren't just here to have a good time. We will definitely change a few things against Mexico because I want to see as many players as possible in a game, not just in training. It will then maybe be a bit different in November.
